So good to see this media release from researchers at The
Queensland Centre for Mothers & Babies! At last, the voice of reason and evidence informed practice on this very important aspect of parenting.
Researchers
reject statement that co-sleeping in dangerous
Researchers
from UQ’s Queensland Centre for Mothers & Babies are concerned about recent
messages that parents should never sleep in the same bed as their babies.
QCMB
Director Professor Sue Kruske said a recent comment by the Victorian Coroner,
who labelled it “inherently dangerous” for a parent to sleep in the same bed as
an infant younger than a year old, was not representing current evidence.
“It is
not the act of bed sharing that is solely responsible for these deaths,”
Professor Kruske said.
“Rather
it is other environmental factors that occur in combination with bed sharing.”
She said
the vast majority of these 'co-sleeping deaths' were in the context of other
circumstances including smoking, alcohol and drug use and unsafe adult sleep
environments.
“Prohibiting bed-sharing will actually lead to more
harmful practices such as falling asleep with the baby on a couch, which is
known to be dangerous, as well as increased cases of babies falling,” she said.
She said
research showed many benefits for babies who bed-share safely with their
parents, including improved breastfeeding duration rates, improved settling
with reduced crying, more infant arousals which are protective for baby, and
improved maternal sleep.
Dr
Jeanine Young, Chair of SIDS and Kids National Scientific Advisory Group and
safe infant sleep expert, said inconsistent messages were making it hard for
parents to make informed decisions.
“To make
sweeping statements about this practice would require reliable prevalence
data,” Dr Young said.
“We know
from the studies we have done that shared sleeping is understandably very
common for families in Australia especially for breastfeeding parents. If
deaths could be ascribed to co-sleeping without other risk factors present, we
would expect a lot more.
“No environment for babies is risk free. Babies have
died alone in cots and babies have died in adult beds. We give
clear advice for reducing risks in cot environments but we have not yet
addressed shared sleep environments in the same way.
“Many people die in car accidents but we don’t tell
people not to drive. We tell them not to drink and drive, to wear seat belts
and not speed.
“Similarly, the message for parents is that if you
choose, or have no option but to co-sleep, the risks can be reduced by not
overheating the baby, not wrapping the baby while bed-sharing, not having
either parents as smokers, or under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
“We also know that premature or unwell babies are at
higher risk of sudden infant death.”
Media: Professor
Sue Kruske 0418 882
337, Dr Jeanine Young 0415 174 003, or Andrew Dunne, QCMB Communications Manager,
0433 364 181.
About the QCMB
The
Queensland Centre for Mothers & Babies is an independent research centre
based at The University of Queensland and funded by the Queensland Government.
The role of the Centre is to work towards consumer-focused maternity care that
is integrated, evidence-based and provides optimal choices for women in
Queensland.
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