Co-sleeping is a difficult subject matter because moms by instict are very protective over their children and would never do things to jeopordize their children's health. I do not believe anyone in this article is passing judgement on parents for co- sleeping. What they are doing is their job: providing public awareness about the risks of co-sleeping. It is up to the parents to weigh the pros and the cons of co-sleeping and to decide whether to co-sleep or not. The deaths that have occurred from co-sleeping were by no mean intentional or even negligent. But they did occur. No one is saying these parents were irresponsible or bad parents. But it is the resposibilty of public health agencies, pediatricians and clinics to provide information regarding the risks of co-sleeping and unsafe sleep practices (on stomach, too much bedding, pillows, etc.) Everyone can have their own opinions and parent how they want to parent, but when a population sees an increase in infant deaths and they can corrolate it to something according to autopsy, I believe the public has the right to know.
It's obvious these people in the article care for your community and it's a shame they are getting chastised for it. Don't shoot the messenger.

upnorthwi~~I am so sorry for your family's loss. I couldn't imagine the grief the family felt at the loss of a young, innocent life. The sad fact is that babies die in the crib, in the parents' bed, etc. I think that we all need to educate ourselves in the safest way possible to care for our children no matter where they are sleeping. And we all need to remember that even despite all the education we get, things still do happen~~things avoidable and unavoidable. ((hugs to you and your family!)

i agree you do have to be careful and take precautions but to say you can't co-sleep is not true because you can and you can do it safely

Maryfan, I had a niece that suffocated because the mom fell asleep while breastfeeding in bed. I think some of your ideas are "a little out there". My sister in law got pregnant while breastfeeding, therefore her kids were barely a year apart, because she thought the same as you. I nursed also. One still has to be very careful while using the "family bed", when you're dead tired, the "biological rhythm" doesn't always wake you up.

"Among the 20 infant deaths in Rock County between 2005 and 2008, nine were caused by unsafe sleep habits....
The infants died because they were sleeping on their stomachs, had excess bedding, were wedged between parents or fell victim to some other unsafe sleep habit"

I find it interesting that only 9 out of 20 infant deaths were caused by unsafe sleeping situations, and then only a fraction of those 9 were possibly caused by cosleeping...yet the reporter used such a harsh line as "but leaving her in bed (with the parents) could lead to her death."
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Please! The focus of this article should be that parents need to practice safe sleeping situations (duh) NOT that cosleeping is deadly. As many have already stated, cosleeping goes hand in hand with breastfeeding. There is a safe way to cosleep, just as there is a safe way to crib-sleep.

i agree with almost all of this article. when my youngest a baby she was never put on her back. i find that a dangerous practice. my daughter was asthmatic, and putting her on her back she could have choked to death from spitting up,or throwing up.her lungs would fill at times, the doctor said never to put her on her back. my grand daughter is almost 3 years old, her mother was instructed also to put her baby on her back well the baby got sick and started coughing and vomitting, and almost choked to death on her own vomit,because she was on her back,so to me this practice is unsafe.

for myself i read all of the articles on sleep habits, it just worked for us to have them sleep with us on the bed. we did take all the precautions and made sure that our baby had his own area with no blankets and pillows in his area heck he had more room on the bed than we did. he is almost 4 now and is just fine. i am not saying everyone should do this it worked for us and i am okay with the decision i made to have my baby sleep with me it doesn't make me a bad parent at all IMO

davvic~~I think what a lot of us feels is lacking in this article is the fact that co sleeping CAN be done safely. There are things you can buy to put in your bed, so you can't roll on top of your baby and still have your baby co sleep with you. There are options out there, but this article just condemns the practice without giving options. I think that is why it was reacted to so strongly.

MaryFan--The infant mortality rate went down due IN PART to the ability to fight infectious disease. But it also went down due to stricter laws governing baby products such as cribs, playpens, car seats, baby monitors, and the list goes on. As for "regulating your fertility" no one says you have to give up nursing and if you feel 100% positive that you will NEVER fall asleep and accidentally roll over on your child or inadvertantly throw a blanket over her or move your pillow too far one way then by all means continue this practice. If however, there are some mothers out there who may not have considered all the consquences involved in taking their baby into bed with them and are not "very attuned to her baby's biological rhythms even when she's sleeping" then maybe these mothers will be able to make an informed decision of how they want to proceed and may actually benefit from this article.

Biggirl-Good point. I guess I did the same thing. I hate that feeling too of being judged by everyone for how you choose to raise your child. I still feel like a new mother but I'm learning that you have to combine the facts and what experts say with what works for your own family to come up with your own parenting plan. We did have our son in a bassinet next to our bed for about 2 weeks after we brought him home (which was our plan for a least a few months). I was nursing and so in tune with his noises (he was a very noisy sleeper) that I got absolutely no sleep those first 2 weeks. We moved him in his room, but that was right next door to us and could still hear him. That just happened to be what was best for us.

Everyone has an opinion, what remains though is that there are safe and unsafe practices. Moms can safely put their child in a crib, have them sleep in bed, etc. There are just certain steps you should take to be as safe as possible in each situation. It always amazes me how the most mild manner mom can become so nasty and bitter when talking about parenting styles/practices. And I have to be honest, I can become that way to if I feel attacked by someone. I think we just all have to remember that most moms and dads want what's best for their child and will do what they can to do that for them. As long as we can be informed and take whatever precautions we can, then we really shouldn't start attacking each other. Being a parent is hard enough~~wouldn't it be nice to know you have the support of other parents out there?

davvic: The decreased infant mortality rate in this country has to do with the ability to combat infectious disease which we did not have 100 years ago. It has nothing to do with parenting. As far as taking a pill...why would I want to risk my own health and morality, not to mention the expense and inconvenience when I can achieve the same thing naturally? The female body was meant to be in an infertile state for long stretches of time. Because our culture has changed, this contributes to the higher incidence of reproductive cancers. Our bodies were built to take care of themselves and modern society does NOT always know better.

i think every parent has their own ways of doing things, for myself and my husband we chose to have the babies sleep with us from the time they were born. it worked for us, we have a huge king size bed and made sure no blankets or pillows were around our babies. but just because it worked for us does not mean it will work for the next person. there are so many things that everyone says not to do with a baby and really if you followed every single written rule in a book or where ever it may come from you might as well place your child in a bubble and never let them out ever.

Reilly: I agree that Justsayno was overly judgmental, but I think this judgmental attitude comes as a result from feeling that other people are judging her/him. After all, this report is saying that these are "unsafe sleeping practices," as if sleeping with one's child (and nursing them while in bed) is somehow equivalent to having a child in a moving vehicle without restraints. We would do well to remember what happened in the fifties when scientists recommended that infants be raised in the most safe way. They argued, rightly, that children that were kept hermetically sealed and removed from human touch would be healthier. They were healthier physiologically, and less-than-healthy psycholoigically. The lesson?: Some sorts of risks are necessary for proper parenting.

Justsayno - "people who leave their baby in a crib in another room when they can not call for help or even lift their head up need their head examined." - That's a little harsh isn't it? Everyone has there own parenting style. Just b/c it isn't yours, doesn't make them stupid.

My daughter slept in a bassinet right next to my bed. I was too afraid to have her in bed with me for fear I would fall asleep and roll over on her. "Nature made babies to need their mothers presence at all times for the first two years of life, although our modern society has decided it knows better. Sleeping with your baby and breastfeeding along with a few other things allows a woman to hormonally regulate her fertility so that she will not get pregnant before it is healthy". Are you kidding me? Modern society DOES know better. That's why the infant mortality rate is way less than it was 100 years ago. If you want to regulate your fertility take a pill! Alot of mothers take their babies to bed because it is simply easier to nurse them and they don't have to get up. And these are very caring, well-meaning mothers who would never intentionally do anything to endanger their babies. These are the mothers that will benefit from this article. I ended up loving the times I nursed her in the middle of the night with just her and I snuggled up in the rocker together.

I guess if you are an extremely heavy sleeper it could be a problem. When my boys were small and nursing I always let them sleep on my stomach/chest. Never had any problems. Not once did I roll over on them. And believe me I was exhausted after I went back to work. I worked 12 hour days plus up every 2 hours to feed. My boys were very content with the arrangement.

My daughter slept in my bed until she was about a month old maybe two. Then she slept in a bassinet next to my bed. There were a few times that she was struggling for breath and I was right there to help her. Had she been in another room I don't know if I would have heard the little muffled sound. When she was diagnosed with RSV when she was 5 months old she slept in her car seat next to my bed. Besides it being the only place she would fall asleep it kept her in an upright position that helped her when she would cough. Now she sleeps in her own crib and does just fine.

This article assumes a blanket statement that sleeping with your baby is always dangerous. Just like a blanket statement saying it is dangerous to take your baby in a car is ludicrous. Of course if you put your baby in the front seat, don't use a proper infant seat don't install it right, etc, it is very dangerous. The same goes for co-sleeping. If you weigh 300lbs and pass out after a couple glasses of alcohol, then yes that would be a very dangerous situation. A breastfeeding mother is very attuned to her baby's biological rhythms even when she's sleeping. Babies regulate their breathing and heart rate to be the same as their mother's when co-sleeping. Babies were not meant to sleep in lonely cribs down the hallway from their mothers. Nature made babies to need their mothers presence at all times for the first two years of life, although our modern society has decided it knows better. Sleeping with your baby and breastfeeding along with a few other things allows a woman to hormonally
regulate her fertility so that she will not get pregnant before it is healthy for both her and baby to do so. This is how we are made...technological advancements are not always better than the way nature intended us to be. The most dangerous thing about a healthy cosleeping arrangement is the PARENT getting kicked and pushed by a toddler!!

"The Rock County Child Death Review Team formed in 2007" - it was the Coroners Office that re-formed this review team. Kudo's to all involved. The information is good to get out. While it is up to the parents, any information that can help them make better choices cannot be a bad thing.

http://www.healthychild.com/toxic-sleep/...

i could not disagree more. there is nothing wrong with sleeping with your baby. my daughter would have suffocated if i didn't sleep with her. she couldn't pick up her head and was congested and stopped breathing in the middle of the night twice ! i was right next to her, woke up and was able to get her breathing again both times. a crib only works if it is in your bedroom with you and you can reach over and check on the baby several times a night. also it is much easier on you and the baby for feedings. i always kept a touch night light next to the bed and after eating and burping we could go back to sleep. don't let people tell you what you know is your choice. people who leave their baby in a crib in another room when they can not call for help or even lift their head up need their head examined.

What isn't mentioned is that there are safe ways to have your baby sleep in bed with you. Just as with crib sleeping~~there are safe and unsafe practices.

I think it is the wrong approach to advise mothers to not sleep with their babies. You may want to read this full article from Dr. William Sears, a pediatrician who sees that the risks are extremely minimal and the benefits greatly outweigh them. Here is the link: http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/t10220.... "Research shows that infants who sleep in a crib are twice as likely to suffer a sleep related fatality (including SIDS) than infants who sleep in bed with their parents." It would be better to teach parents how to safely sleep with their babies instead of encouraging them not to do it at all.

These are sad stories. I couldn't imagine how a mother and father would cope with something like that...even though their intent was love, they would forever blame themselves I am sure. Just so sad. But sometimes, things just happen, and you can't live in the past, only learn for the future.

Great article, Gina! I'm glad the Gazette covered this topic. Parents should be taught the proper/safe way to put their baby to sleep. Mercy Hospital Janesville's New Generations Birthing Center offers birthing classes and training courses for this kind of thing as well.

I did get that ontheNEside I was just talking about another common issue sorry if it bothered you .Also to this issue I have talked to my son and his gf and to no avail. I got them a bassinet and still they have the baby in bed a majority of time. of course young parents have all the answers,

This article really isn't about SIDS but PREVENTABLE infant deaths.

A close friend lost her baby years ago to SIDS and he was not on his belly and was in his crib with nothing that would have been a risk and it was sad and she blamed herself for years. she and her husband were great parents and still to this day try and understand why it happened. Sometimes they just quit breathing and nothing anyone does can prevent it.

Sometimes nomatter what you do it happen. and just a thought after hearing of people with sleep apnia maybe that could be another cause to this. as to dropside cribs they have been aroud for years. Make sure the catch works and I don't think there is any other possible problem is with them. Just my Opinion

Parents should be aware that drop-side cribs are considered so dangerous, the industry is proposing voluntarily banning their manufacture.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...
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There are millions of these cribs out there already and they will be passed around families and sold at garage sales for years to come.