Co-sleeping and the Media
By Linda F. Palmer, DC
The New York Times recently took
the opportunity to provide us with some great news from a new
study: Cosleeping in the US has doubled since 1993 --- from 5.5
to 12.8 percent. But, while the NIH report was neutral in nature,
the Times just couldn't bring themselves to show us what good
news this statistic could be.
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The article also quotes that almost
1/3rd of Asian-American and African-American infants are regularly
sleeping in adult beds, while only 10% of whites are. Overall,
nearly half of all babies were spending at least some time in
adult beds. While they quoted a couple of healthy-parenting experts
on the cozy and sleep-saving benefits of cosleeping, they still
had to print only this in regards to the safety issue: "The
same results worry safety experts, who say the practice causes
suffocation."
While many of the so-called safety
experts won't be changing their croon due to ties with formula
and crib industries, others have little chance of improving their
understanding when one-sided information is constantly presented
by the press.
The Times went on to quote a Dr.
Bradley Thatch, professor of pediatrics at the Washington University
School of Medicine, as saying he was "in the camp that thinks
it's dangerous. In 50 percent of the sudden infant deaths in St.
Louis, and 70 percent of those among blacks, bed-sharing was involved."
Well, Dr. Thatch, if you were to
read other studies, you would learn that there is "good bed-sharing"
and "risky bed-sharing." When the adult-bed sleeping
infant is not accompanied by a conscientious, non-smoking adult,
SIDS is higher.
It seems as though the Times had
to look for someone experienced with a high-risk population in
order to find a good quote. The population Dr. Thatch has studied
is one classified as having many more teenage pregnancies and
many impoverished areas with low education rates. More smoking,
drinking, and drug use are expected in these populations on the
whole. Along with St. Louis' large proportion of African-Americans,
all of these groups are typically associated with more formula
feeding (another high risk factor for SIDS). All of these populations
have also been shown to have very high rates of bed-sharing, but
more often with unsafe practices.
With a high level of risk factors,
cosleeping can result in higher SIDS rates than crib-sleeping.
With 50 to likely 70 percent of the St. Louis infant population
sleeping in adult beds at least part of the time, many with higher-risk
behaviors, it's no wonder that 50 to 70% of their SIDS deaths
are found to have "bed-sharing involved."
Many studies have been performed
to try to solve the puzzle of the sad SIDS rates in African-Americans.
These suggest that the differences are associated with differing
behaviors. African-Americans are still placing their babies to
sleep in the prone position at very high rates. Prenatal care
rates are low (a known risk-factor for SIDS), and low-weight births
are far higher. One study reports that softer bedding and pillows
are also more-often found in this at-risk population. This high
SIDS rates is not reflected in many parts of Africa, where more
natural parenting behaviors are practiced.
While equal percentages
of Asian-Americans are regularly cosleeping, their SIDS rates
are very low --- less than 1/4th the rate of African-American
populations. Clearly, cosleeping itself is not the culprit.
It is important for us to know
that certain populations typically have riskier bed-sharing practices,
(and these need to be addressed in the proper frame of reference),
but when worldwide statistics demonstrate how much safer cosleeping
can be than crib sleeping --- when without smoke and drugs, and
even better when accompanied by breastfeeding --- there is no
benefit to making a blanket statement against cosleeping. Those
who practice conscientious cosleeping for the increased emotional
and physical wellbeing of their children (and for better sleep)
should not be frightened and misled by one-sided, sensational,
and inaccurate information.
Endnotes
McNeil, Donald G. Jr., "More Babies Share Beds With Parents."
The New York Times, 2003 Jan 14.
Willinger M, et. al., "Trends
in infant bed sharing in the United States, 1993-2000: the national
infant sleep position study." Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2003
Jan;157(1):43-9.
Mathews TJ, et. al., "Infant
mortality statistics from the 1999 period linked birth/infant
death data set." Natl Vital Stat Rep 2002 Jan 30;50(4):1-28.
Johnson CM, et. al., "Infant
sleep position: A telephone survey of inner-city parents of color."
Pediatrics 1999 Nov;104(5 Pt 2):1208-11.
Papacek EM, et. al., "Differing
postneonatal mortality rates of African-American and white infants
in Chicago: an ecologic study." Matern Child Health J 2002
Jun;6(2):99-105.
Palmer, Linda F., Baby Matters,
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Caring for Your Baby,
(Lancaster Ohio: Lucky Press, 2001), 87-97
Palmer, Linda F., "Cosleeping
and SIDS Fact Sheet." Jan 2003.
© Copyright 2002 Dr. Linda
Folden Palmer
Dr. Linda Folden
Palmer consults and lectures on natural infant health, optimal
child nutrition and attachment parenting. After running a successful
chiropractic practice focused on nutrition and women’s health
for more than a decade, Linda’s life became transformed
eight years ago by the birth of her son. Her research into his
particular health challenges led her to write Baby
Matters: What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Caring for Your
Baby. Extensively documented, this healthy parenting
bookpresents the scientific evidence behind attachment parenting
practices, supporting baby's immune system, preventing colic and
sparing drug usage. You can visit Linda’s web site at www.babyreference.com.
