# Tried to get SID prevention mattress cover for our adult bed...



## joy11 (Jul 31, 2005)

because I bought one for the co-sleeper from New Zealand, I'm sure some of you are familiar with the cot death prevention mattress-wrapping campaign over there. If not, here is a link http://www.childbirthsolutions.com/a...s/cotdeath.php Anyway, I was suprised to get the following response, since they believe that the cause of SIDS is toxic chemicals from the combination of what is on the mattress and the sweat and fluids from baby/people.

Thank you for your message.

PLEASE don't bedshare with your baby!!!

It is quite impossible to provide a safe sleeping environment for a
baby
sleeping with its parents.

For that reason BabeSafe does not (and never will) make BabeSafe covers
for
adult beds.

Bed-sharing (quite prevalent in the US) is a major, if not the prime
cause
of the stubbornly high rate of crib death in the US.

Please see the following:

Thank you for your inquiry regarding mattress-wrapping of
large-sized mattresses for the purpose of bedsharing with a baby.

For legal and professional reasons, I do not provide advice on
how to wrap large-sized mattresses for cot/crib death prevention.
All bedsharing between adults and babies must take place at the
parents' own risk.

The purpose of the Cot Life 2000 mattress-wrapping instructions
is to eliminate the risk of exposure of the baby to the toxic
gases which cause cot death. To eliminate the possibility of
exposure to those gases, your baby should sleep ONLY in his/her
own separate cot (or .bassinette or co-sleeper), with the
mattress wrapped in a BabeSafe cover, and only the specified
bedding used on top of the wrapped mattress.

I strongly recommend that you do not bedshare with your baby. A
baby is much safer sleeping in his or her own cot. This cot can
be in your bedroom and can be positioned close to your bed if you
wish.

Best wishes

Jim Sprott

I responded with some more questions as to why not cover an adult bed if the mattress is the culprit, not the co-sleeping, and couldn't people co-sleep on the floor then, or other arrangements? So aggravating that all advice to help avoid SIDS requires baby sacrificing either sound sleep or the comfort of being near their parents. urrrrgh!


----------



## WriterMama (Mar 27, 2002)

Hmm. . .why have I always had the impression that NZ was more progressive about these things? And how funny that he said co-sleeping is quite prevalent in the US. I thought we were known for our "cages."


----------



## AmyC (Jul 3, 2005)

"Bed-sharing....is a major, if not the prime
cause of the stubbornly high rate of crib death in the US."

How semantically funny to assert that "bed-sharing" results in "crib death"!


----------



## joy11 (Jul 31, 2005)

I know, I'm so bummed! I asked if having a natural latex mattress made a difference and they ignored that question, also. And, I could always sleep on the floor with babe if I was really worried, couldn't I? Why is everything so cut and dried with some people? Even people who are supposedly thinking outside the box on issues? And what were the "legal and professional" reasons that they can not give the same advice for wrapping a large mattress as for a small one? Seems idiotic to me, unless they are being held responsible for the death of a child in a parent's bed or something. I mean, of course there are always factors beyond anyone's control there, such as a parent using medication or whatever, but what does that have to do with selling a product that could prevent toxic gases from coming out of the mattress? Good grief!!


----------



## joy11 (Jul 31, 2005)

Here is the latest e-mail I rec'd. Any thoughts?

The reason why BabeSafe and I cannot condone bedsharing is that whereas
it
is very easy to achieve totally safe and correct mattress-wrapping in
respect of infant-sized mattresses, that is much harder to achieve in
respect of larger sized mattresses. And neither BabeSafe nor I (as a
professional scientist) can be associated with any form of
mattress-wrapping
which could pose risk to a baby.

Sleeping on the floor with the baby is not a safe alternative - it
would be
another bedsharing situation.

If parents wish to eliminate crib death risk for their baby, under the
Cot
Life 2000 protocol the baby must sleep in a totally separate
bassinet/crib
from the adults' bed, with the baby's mattress enclosed in a BabeSafe
cover
and using the specified bedding for a wrapped mattress.

I presume that you live in the USA. I don't wish to be offensive, but
the
USA is years behind other countries in crib death prevention, and was
years
behind throughout the 1990s. Bedsharing is widely promoted in the USA,
and
the practice contributes significantly to the comparatively high US
crib
death rate. Around nine US babies die of crib death every 24 hours,
and
probably around one-half of those deaths are caused by bedsharing.

You mentioned that your baby does not like to sleep alone. However
babies
can certainly be trained to sleep in their own bassinets/cribs. You
may
have a few disturbed nights while he adjusts to sleeping alone, but
that is
far preferable to the risks which can arise from bedsharing.

Visit www.cotlife2000.co.nz

See below for information on the statistical results of the New Zealand
mattress-wrapping campaign.

Best wishes,
Jim Sprott
Auckland, New Zealand


----------



## the2amigos (Apr 27, 2005)

WTH? Bedsharing is widely promoted in the USA?!? I am the only person I know of who sleeps with my babe, everyone I mention this to looks at me like I've grown three heads. Where is he getting his info, that he is light years ahead of?!?


----------



## joy11 (Jul 31, 2005)

That's what I thought at first, also and then I thought some more about it and realized that it's true that Dr. Sears' books are big sellers and he does promote co-sleeping, and also that the LLL (another big source of info for parents) promotes it, and the "authorities" only just this past week came out specifically against it, so I can kind of see where he is coming from. But, I agree that I know nobody else who actually does it. LOL. I guess we are the only ones still living back in the stoneage, when babies slept with their mothers and all was right with the world of an infant. They didn't have to suffer for our comfort of having toxic and unsafe bedding and mattresses.

I am going to e-mail him back, just not sure what to say at this point. I still don't understand what the deaths from co-sleeping have to do with the "cot deaths" from toxic mattresses. The co-sleeping SIDS deaths could have occured from intoxicated or drugged parents, or who knows what....all I wanted was a safe mattress. Is that too much to ask?


----------

