Safe sleeping for babies
Baltimore is launching a new public awareness campaign to tell parents that babies should sleep alone on their backs in a crib, as my colleague Meredith Cohn reports today.
The B'More for Healthy Babies project will feature real moms who have lost their children. Their stories will be featured on billboards and on radio spots as well as on video to be shown in maternity wards.
One mother, Dearea Matthews, who will be involved in the project, lost Charlie on Dec. 29. He slept in bed with his parents, just as his two siblings had done and as other members of his extended family had done with their parents.
Although many moms here and elsewhere believe in co-sleeping for convenience and safety reasons, Meredith notes that 27 infant deaths last year in Baltimore were tied to unsafe sleeping practices.
Babies who are not alone in a crib can be crushed by a sleeping parent or sibling, or suffocated by blankets or toys. On their bellies they can also more easily choke. Charlie's death remains unexplained, but health officials say sudden infant death syndrome, formerly known as crib death, is far less likely to happen to babies properly positioned for sleeping.
Categories: Babies and Toddlers, Child Safety
Comments
Give me a break. Cosleeping done right is not dangerous. Cribs that might collapse ARE dangerous. There are parents who should not co-sleep, but I think it's irresponsible to infer that all co-sleeping is bad.
Posted by: Kayris | August 10, 2010 8:27 PM
The media needs to show both sides to co-sleeping. It is a WONDERFUL thing to do with your baby if done RIGHT. Dr. James McKenna has done tons of research on the benefits of co-sleeping (http://www.nd.edu/~jmckenn1/lab/faq.html). How is it that so many other cultures/countries encourage co-sleeping and don't have a problem with this, but yet we do? Because we don't educate ourselves and listen to the media and their scare tactics.
Posted by: Michelle | August 13, 2010 3:33 PM
I truly hope Meredith isn't reporting this story from an approving standpoint. Baltimore's "public awareness campaign" is dangerous at best. Before they start misrepresenting stats maybe they could inform the public the number of deaths of children sleeping in cribs vs co-sleeping. How about the number of deaths due to a fire in the house where the parent could not rescue the child because they were in another room. There are many many reasons that co-sleeping, when done safely is the obvious choice. If co-sleeping is so dangerous how come the nations with the highest percentage of co-sleeping have the lowest rates of SIDS? Maybe instead of promoting Baltimore spending money to "save" us from the dangers of co-sleeping she could spend her time in a more meaningful way, possibly by quoting stats that would put this campain to shame. Such as the easiest way to reduce SIDS by 50% is exclusive extended breastfeeding. I quote from the nih: "At the very least, we hope that the studies and data described in this paper, which show that co-sleeping at least in the form of roomsharing especially with an actively breast feeding mother saves lives, is a powerful reason why the simplistic, scientifically inaccurate and misleading statement 'never sleep with your baby' needs to be rescinded, wherever and whenever it is published" It's no wonder we were ranked 3rd most dangerous city for children. Lets not promote or advertise Baltimore's most dangerous campaign.
Posted by: Carrie | August 20, 2010 4:59 PM