# NPR on Co-sleeping--Are you Listening?



## sraplayas (Mar 15, 2005)

I'm listening to NPR on their follow-up piece on co-sleeping. They have a Ped. on that is saying that people who co-sleep are usually younger, have more children, are of a lower socio-economic level and smoke. Also, he says that if you are highly concerned about SIDs, that he recommends Not co-sleeping.

For those of you who have listened to this coverage, what do you think?


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## 3lilmunkeys (Oct 31, 2005)

I think thats a bunch of crap - thats what I think







:


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## Herausgeber (Apr 29, 2006)

Ha. My husband and I are in our 30s, affluent and have a wall full of college degrees. Co-sleeping was both our instinct and an educated decision for us.


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## blessed (Jan 28, 2006)

Post graduate degree. Top percentile in national income. Cosleeper.

I have friends and relatives who cosleep and none of them fit that doctor's profile either.


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## Flower of Bliss (Jun 13, 2006)

All of the people that I know that co-sleep (and that's plenty families actually) are non-smokers and middle or upper-middle class, well educated families. They're mostly my age and older. I'm not sure how many kids qualifies as more children. Several of the families I know have 3 or 4 kids, but not HUGE families.

I only have my 1 so far  I'm 27 (as is DH). We're definitely not low socio-economic. I'm not sure what the income cut offs are, but we may even qualify as upper middle class now







: - just a few years ago we were dead broke college students. Neither one of us smokes or uses drugs and we very rarely drink and never to the point of drunkeness. We both have college degrees...

Maybe the issue is that the more wealthy and such families own cribs and don't advertise that they co-sleep. Most of the co-sleeping families I know have cribs.


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## Potty Diva (Jun 18, 2003)

Where does this fella live?

We are in our 30's bachelor's degree soon to be working on Masters in History and me Associates degree working on Bachelors.

But, we were educated before we started going to college.

We don't smoke or drink.


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## Juvysen (Apr 25, 2007)

Was he talking about co-sleeping americans or including the rest of the world in there? I mean, if he included the rest of the world, what he said might be true... in a lot of places the richer ppl can afford extra rooms to put their babies in and poorer people cosleep... many poorer people in the world also smoke cigarettes... these people may also not have access to birthcontrol and therefore may have more children. It does not seem to be the norm for co-sleeping in america, though. I'm so curious if this is what he was refering to... because otherwise he's full of... well, you know.


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## Potty Diva (Jun 18, 2003)

poo-poo?


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## ZsMama (Jul 29, 2007)

Ha. That's funny.

DH & I are 26. I'd say upper middle class. One child. Non smokers.


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## verde (Feb 11, 2007)

WAIT A MINUTE NOW. Yes, I listened to the whole report and by the time he got to the end of it he was much more open to co-sleeping. It was unclear to me if his description of people who cosleep (younger, lower SEL) was in Detroit, where the original story began, or was in general.

However, NPR did state that they got LOTS of responses to the original story, lots of angry responses, from people who stated they coslept and loved it. IN fact they said they got so much response that they decided to revisit the issue. The man, they interviewed, a pediatrician,was not totally against cosleeping and offered advice on how to do it safely. Nothing he said struck me as being anti-cosleeping and all his advice was reasonable. He stated that lots of people enjoy cosleeping and that it's a passionate issue for those opposed and against.

Please listen to the ENTIRE report before you condemn it.


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## rachellanigh (Aug 26, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Herausgeber* 
Ha. My husband and I are in our 30s, affluent and have a wall full of college degrees. Co-sleeping was both our instinct and an educated decision for us.

This is my family's situation as well...educated, 31, hubbie has a great job and we co-sleep!


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

I actually thought it ended fairly strongly.

I was annoyed that
(a) they didn't address the evidence that co-sleeping has been shown to correlate with a lower incidence of SIDS
(b) they didn't have a completely pro-co-sleeping (or "bed sharing") doc on since the last one was completely against it
(c) they didn't differentiate between SIDS and overlying and suffucating, all of which are completely different yet constantly get mushed togeter
(d) he acted like there was no link between co-sleeping and breastfeeding


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## PatchPixie (Apr 17, 2005)

I heard it. I didn't think he was anti-co-sleeping. I think they spent the majority of the interview with him explaining *why* it is oft recommended not to co-sleep instead of discussing in-depth all of the wonderful benefits of co-sleeping.

i wonder how accurate the figures on co-sleeping really are......

gosh i love sleepin' next to my baby


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## kreyno4 (May 10, 2006)

I agree with annettemarie that a panel would have been a much better, fairer way to revisit the issue. I would not call that expert neutral on the issue.

But I do respect that he talked about safe ways of co-sleeping. I wish that message would get out their more. People of any age, SES, and education level are likely to put their baby in their bed in the middle of the night when they are tired--even if they didn't intend to co-sleep. It is so natural, and so silly to deny, so it would be much better to educate people to co-sleep safely.

He presented a co-sleeping/SIDS connection like it was an accepted fact which it is not. I agree again with annettemarie that he muddled the suffocation/SIDS/overlying issue which is bad science IMO.

I thought they needed more info on the benefits of co-sleeping, other than bonding/feel good issues (which are important of course but not the only thing!).

Putting a global perspective on co-sleeping would also be good, since it is the norm many people in other countries.


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kreyno4* 

He presented a co-sleeping/SIDS connection like it was an accepted fact which it is not. I agree again with annettemarie that he muddled the suffocation/SIDS/overlying issue which is bad science IMO.

But you know, it was interesting, because he also pretty much admitted that the AAP started the Back to Sleep campaign with a complete lack of any real evidence, and did the same with their anti-co-sleeping recommendations. I bet he opens his in-box to some angry ticked-off emails from colleagues tomorrow.


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## quinnsmum (Apr 4, 2007)

I started co-sleeping because I feared SIDS. and the research indicated that co-sleeping reduces the risk. The bonus was I got more sleep AND got to snuggle with my boy all night long.


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## 1hautemama (Mar 5, 2006)

I thought it was great to hear this issue covered on NPR, and though there was more to be desired, the topic was well discussed, for the brief time permitted. The second doctor seemed much more encouraging of co-sleeping and may serve a patient population with an AP lifestyle. The first doc seemed a bit on the scare-mongering side, and beholden to AAP, his malpractice insurance company, etc.


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## MissMommyNiceNice (May 1, 2007)

Well, I'd have to give that report an 80%! They did a good job, after much muddling, of saying how there was little or no evidence against co-sleeping at the beginning (early 80's) of recommendations to stop doing it. And how many members of the APA were against the move to recommend against cosleeping. But, then again, how many people heard that? HOw many heard it's just poor drinking smokers that sleep with their babies?

I think doctors sometimes have to walk a fine line between sticking with the expected norm and doing what they know is right. Isn't that a dilemma that all of us face?

I sure think they could have done a much better job of explaining the AP aspect of the issue, and clearly, people who AP are less likely to be poor smoking drinkers. (well, some of us are poor but only because we chose to go down to one income to raise our child!) And even then, on one income, I think DH & I still qualify for middle class. Whatever that means!









Either way, I think I will be sending NPR a quick email to let them know their "revisit" was admirable, but still lacking in actual scientific evidence about the cosleeping norm.


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## wholewheatmama (Oct 22, 2005)

Shoot, I missed the original report and the follow up, though I did hear last Thursday's mail responses to the first!

My little brother's family actually fits the second doctor's description almost perfectly! Co-sleeping is the ONLY AP practice they use, and I have to admit I was surprised to find out they do it.

However, I don't fit that profile at all and am planning to co-sleep when my little one comes in December, after much research.


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## snowmom11 (Feb 16, 2007)

I listened to the report yesterday too and thought that it was interesting and well-balanced. I didn't hear the first report, so I can't comment on it, but I felt that the Dr yesterday was mostly explaining the rationale of the AAP's stand and that he wasn't explicitly endorsing any one viewpoint, just clarifying what had already been said and done and the reasons why.

I guess the original issue was that several babies had died in one area in a short period of time and had all been co-sleeping. Again, I don't know if co-sleeping was a causative factor in these cases, but the truth is that not everyone is cautious when they co-sleep and, despite the demographics on this board, not everyone who chooses to co-sleep is well-educated and makes good choices. I don't think there is anything terrible about reporting the circumstances in these cases. People should be informed so that they can make the best possible choices. Knowing that co-sleeping is statistically linked to SIDS is useful information, but it would not deter me from co-sleeping because I understand the limits of the statistics.


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## christyp (Mar 23, 2007)

Slight rant, sorry -

I heard the piece and was actually pretty angry because they once again confounded SIDS and suffocation. By definition if a death is caused by suffocation or over-lying it is not SIDS. SIDS is a diagnosis of exclusion that is applied only when the medical examiner cannot determine any other cause of death.

Given that co-sleeping has been the norm for much of humanity and remains so for much of the world I think of it like this: Co-sleeping doesn't kill babies. Pillowtop mattresses, down comforters, decorative pillows, and impaired parents kill babies. It's not the co-sleeping, it is the Westernized bed.

Education has got to be key here. Many people become inadvertent co-sleepers. They bring the baby in with them without planning for it. They may have a more unsafe sleeping environment or even just leave the babe in heavy nightclothes that he needed for sleeping alone but might overheat him in bed with the family.

Also the doc on NPR last night said that the baby should not be placed between the parent and a wall. This is counter to the safe co-sleeping guidelines from Attachment Parenting International which suggest putting baby between mom and the wall, making sure that any crevice between mattress and wall is filled in with a blanket or towel rather than between the parents.

Here's the link to the original story (7/27/7) http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...oryId=12262817
I re-listened, and the deaths were suffocations caused by unsafe sleeping conditions including one infant sleeping with a sibling. He also seemed to imply that one was on a surface other than a bed (sofa perhaps?) In the follow up on 8/6/7, the text said that all were sleeping with other adults in beds. Here's the link for last night's story http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...oryId=12542868

Regarding the doc's profile of co-sleeping parents, I agree with all PP that he is way off. Well educated, non smokers, 1 baby, mom and dad over 30, upper middle class. Just like all of the other co-sleepers I know (although to be fair that profile fits pretty much everybody I know, including those whose babies sleep alone - we are a biased sample at MDC!)


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## DiannaK (Jul 12, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Herausgeber* 
Ha. My husband and I are in our 30s, affluent and have a wall full of college degrees. Co-sleeping was both our instinct and an educated decision for us.

Amen to that ....
My friends who co-sleep are well-educated (MDs, even), affluent NON smokers.

I'm an ER nurse ... I see MANY low- educated, low socio-economic smokers ...
guess what? They do NOT co-sleep, and they CIO.

This is why I rarely listen to NPR


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## SPOpa (Jan 27, 2006)

I listened and felt overall it was a balanced effort.


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