Scary Topic

[SummerTwilight]

I was just browsing on another mothers board, I forget which one, and saw a discussion on SIDS. I am paranoid so I started reading and some of the women talked about thinking it was because they co-sleep. That if their babies had been in their cribs they would still be alive.
Does anyone know anything about a correlation to co-sleeping and SIDS? I would assume logically that it would be the opposite of what they said although I have no idea what I am talking about.
Sorry for the scary, depressing topic.

[AllyRae]

Just popping in here... James McKenna is the world's leading researcher on infant sleep and operates the Mother-Baby Sleep Institute in South Bend, Indiana. I have read a ton of his work while I was working on my master's degree, and he has a ton of scientific studies he's conducted that show co-sleeping reduces the risk of sids, and in cultures where co-sleeping is the norm (like Japan), they do not see SIDS nearly as much as in cultures where crib-sleeping is the norm...

[spero]

You might want to check out the Vaccinations forum. Many cases of severe vaccine related deaths have been wrongly labelled as SIDS.

[~member~]

Originally Posted by skellbelle

You might want to check out the Vaccinations forum. Many cases of severe vaccine related deaths have been wrongly labelled as SIDS.

: There are also studies showing that the risk of SIDs increases with the shots.

[Ary99]

Hey Summer, you worry about losing the baby, then you worry about SIDS, the your pray your preschooler doesn't get cancer, then you worry your teenager won't get in the car with a drunk driver. It's hard to find just one thing to worry about. I tend to pick a topic then obsess only to find it doesn't really do any good. I was soooooo tuned into my son there is no way I would have smothered his in a SIDS kind of way. It's rare. You will have a healthy, breastfed baby you watch like a hawk.

It'll be ok.

[peilover010202]

You could also head over to the family bed forum, there are a lot of knowledgeable people over there re: SIDS and co-sleeping.

I haven't really researched it much, but my own opinion is this - I know what kind of sleeper I am. And, I feel comfortable sleeping with my babies - more comfortable actually, because I KNOW when/if they spit up so I can check on them, I KNOW when they wake up so I can check on them, etc.

[boobyfeeder]

Think about it this way...SIDS used to be known as "crib death" for a reason.

It will be ok, try not to worry too much.

[coop_mom]

most of the articles I have read on the subject do say that co-sleeping acutally reduces SIDS

I agree with the pp, I would check out the family bed forum, I'm sure you'll find lots of reassurance over there

We are planning to co-sleep (if that works for baby) and I'm not worried about SIDS with the babe in our bed

[mamamilkers]

Also, I think with regards to co-sleeping, people will say "co-sleeping causes SIDS" when really the child died by un-safe co-sleeping conditions and more than likely just suffocated. Obviously still it is still heart-breaking, but IMO that is a preventable situation.

It drives me crazy that people will label a baby's death as SIDS, which means they don't know what caused it, when really the child died by an identifiable cause. I have heard that actually very few children actually die of SIDS, because the vast majority of the time the cause of death IS known.

[veganf]

I second reading McKenna's research on the subject. Very eye-opening, and gets you away from thinking in American mainstream "logic".

[ibex67]

I am a firm believer in sleeping near your baby. However, the average american adult bed is not necessarily a safe space for an infant. The pillows and blankets and comforters and soft mattresses can create pockets where air is not appropriately circulated for an infants' developing autonomic nervous system.

I will co-sleep -- but not in my bed. In a flat, firm futon with one small pillow for me and one light sheet for me.

This issue is not as black and white as many folks like to think ...

[ColoradoMama]

I was incredibly paranoid about SIDS with my first child. When I was a child, I stopped breathing several times and had to be rushed to the hospital. Had my mom not seen me, I'd have died, and it most likely would have been labelled "crib death." So, we were nervous. Unfortunately, most of the research lumps "co-sleeping" all together. A drunk mother who falls asleep on an old couch with lots of bunched up blankets on it and smothers her baby - is the "same" as parents in a planned co-sleeping environment. When you look at the research of "planned co-sleeping environments" - the risk of SIDS is actually lower. After sleeping with my children for almost 7 years now - I know they are much, much safer with me. I am hyper aware of them when they are next to me. I know we are not immune from SIDS, but I know my children are much safer with me. If they were in another room or even another bed - I wouldn't be aware of what was going on. Plus, when mom and baby sleep together - their sleep cycles start to come together. It is SO cool. I can't tell you how many times I've woke up right before my infant wakes up and wants to nurse. If I remember correctly, that helps regulate an infant's sleep cycles, so that they wake up when they are supposed to - rather than sleeping too deeply which is believed to be part of the problem with SIDS.

[ibex67]

[QUOTE=ColoradoMama When you look at the research of "planned co-sleeping environments" - the risk of SIDS is actually lower. After sleeping with my children for almost 7 years now - I know they are much, much safer with me. I am hyper aware of them when they are next to me. I know we are not immune from SIDS, but I know my children are much safer with me. If they were in another room or even another bed - I wouldn't be aware of what was going on. Plus, when mom and baby sleep together - their sleep cycles start to come together. It is SO cool. I can't tell you how many times I've woke up right before my infant wakes up and wants to nurse. If I remember correctly, that helps regulate an infant's sleep cycles, so that they wake up when they are supposed to - rather than sleeping too deeply which is believed to be part of the problem with SIDS.[/QUOTE]

I think the key thing here is "planned cosleep environment." Alot of cosleeping advocates don't explicitly describe what a safe/planned co-sleep environment is. It is NOT the average american/western bed.