Why is co-sleeping considered safe?

Question

I've seen a lot lately about co-sleeping and why it's better than putting a baby in a crib. Why is this safe? What is to prevent the parents from rolling over onto the baby? To me, this seems especially dangerous when the baby is newborn (or still very young/small) and his movements wouldn't be strong enough to alert the parents if they were lying on top of him.

There was a tragic story on the news several months ago in Michigan where a set of parents had their baby with them in the bed (I think she was only a few weeks old...maybe a month) and one of them rolled over on her and suffocated her. Of course this was accidental, but the parents are still being tried for involuntary manslaughter.

Answer 1

It's not safe. Babies do get rolled over on or they get trapped in the bedding and they die. Doctors do not recommend it. The only way they say it is safe is if there is one of those crib thingy's that attach to the side of your bed. But to me that's an unnecessary expense. Just keep the baby in a bassinet in your room if that's what you want. The tragic story you mentioned is not the only one, this has happend many times to other babies. They are just too little to be sleeping in an adult bed. I just read an article in Parent's magazine about preventing SIDS, it was last month's or this month's issue. It says babies should never sleep in parents beds.

Answer 2

Co-sleeping is considered safe because it *is* safe. A parent who never rolls out of bed is obviously aware enough of her/his environment even while fast asleep to keep from suffering a bruise; how much more so would they be aware of where the baby is!! Obviously, a parent has to be responsible in putting baby to bed--in an adult bed or anywhere else!! If a parent had accidentally gotten an old crib where the bars were too far apart, and their baby been killed by getting her/his head stuck have been charged with a crime? I doubt it. I am not familiar with the Michigan case you mention, but there is obviously some prejudice at work here.

Answer 3

Co-sleeping is not safe at all. The safest place for a newborn to sleep is in a bassinet beside your bed. My husband is a detective constable with our city police force and within 6 weeks of this promotion he had to deal with 2 cases of infant death. One baby was 4 weeks old, the other 6. In both cases the parents had been co-sleeping with the baby and rolled over onto them. With the 4 week old the father rolled over and suffocated the baby, with the 6 week old it was the mother. The parents were obviously devastated and in both cases no charges were filed (accidental death).

Our 10 month old has never slept with us. Before moving into her nursery she slept in a bassinet at the foot of our bed. We would have never put her in such danger that co-sleeping does.

When you're a new parent (whether it's your first time around or third) you can never prepare for how tired you are when your little one arrives. Most people are so exhausted they would never know it if they rolled over onto their baby.

Answer 4

If you follow safe co-sleeping practices then yes, putting baby in bed with you is far better than leaving baby alone in a crib.

They run these darn news stories and they NEVER say if the people were following safe co-sleeping practices.

You should NOT co-sleep if you use drugs or drink. You should NOT co-sleep if you are morbidly obese.

How often do you fall out of bed? You DON'T because you have a sense of where the edge of the bed is at. It's the same with the baby. A mother who is not drunk or on drugs will not roll over on her baby because she has a sense of where the child is at in the bed. (ESPECIALLY a breastfeeding mother who is very in tune with her child.)

It is preferable for baby to sleep next to mom since mothers are usually more in tune with baby. You can put a bed rail on the bed or tightly wedge mom's side up against the wall to make it impossible for baby to fall out of bed or become trapped.

Use a large bed.....queen or king is good.....or try putting mattresses on the floor. I know many people who have moved their mattress to the floor while baby is young and put a twin mattress beside theirs as a "side car" for baby. You can also buy a co-sleeper that is like a pack-n-play type thing with only 3 sides and attach that to the bed.

Don't co-sleep in a waterbed or on a super soft mattress (like a pillow top mattress).

Keep pillows and blankets away from baby. I used a smaller blanket that just covered me instead of one that covered the whole bed.

FORGOT....
One other option is to take one side off of the crib and wedge the crib between the parent's mattress and the wall.

Answer 5

Some studies say that it is safer than putting the baby in a crib! I was against it until I brought my baby home from the hospital. I guess it depends on how YOU sleep. When she was tiny her slightest move woke me up. I never let her sleep next to her dad because he wouldn't have noticed her (he's a heavy sleeper). Some studies say that it regulates the baby's breathing and they don't go into as deep of a sleep as they would if they were alone. It's when they're in that really deep state of sleep that SIDS happens. It also helps a lot with breastfeeding. You learn very quickly how to nurse in your sleep! I guess unless you are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or very overweight it is safe and a lot more people do it than you may realize.

Answer 6

Its not safe...babies get rolled over and crushed all the time. I did it a few times(just until baby fell asleep) and I did find that I barely slept because I was afraid to move. But I was very aware of the fact that baby was there. My son went into his own bed at 1 week old, and started dleeping through the night at 2-1/2 weeks. Went doen at 9pm and woke up at 7 am the next morning

Answer 7

Co-sleeping is not new. It has been done by cultures across the world for centuries. It is estimated that 2 in 5 families with kids practice co-sleeping.

How many of these tragic accidents have you heard of? I myself have heard of 3.. in all my life.. yours makes the third. I co-slept with both my boys. I know MANY others that have as well. I have heard of FAR MORE cases of SIDS than accidental deaths by co-sleeping.

The benefits of co-sleeping FAR outweigh the risk.

It promotes confidence, self-esteem and intimacy.
It promotes sensitivity.
It eliminates bed time struggles which is hard for the parent and the child.
It fosters acceptance and closeness.
It allows the parent to be there if the child stops breathing or has a problem in the night.

The one downfall to co-sleeping is not the remote chance for child mortality. It is the stigma that our culture places on it. SIDS occurs far more frequently in a child's crib than in a parent's bed.
While there have been some unfortunate accidents.. I feel that co-sleeping is FAR safer, and better for parent/child bonding.

Answer 8

I was always told not to cosleep, but lately I too have been hearing that its ok. My son is 6 months and when he was a newborn I would occasionally put him in bed with me. He slept better that way. I dont know about anybody else but when he was in bed with me I couldnt fall into a deep sleep. I would wake up constantly to check on him and could feel him by my side. I still put him bed with me to take a nap sometimes but now I have to put pillows by the edges because he can roll over and squirm around now.

Answer 9

co sleeping isn't consided better-infact it's frowned upon majorily by pediatricians. But becasue parents will do it, they recomend getting a cosleeper which attaches to the bed and is open. it's basically like a small bed attached to the big one just for the baby

Answer 10

I don't know where you got your research, but the current research is that co-sleeping is NOT safe and goes through the reasons. Either Oprah or Dr. Phil did a big show on this at season's end.