Dramatic increase in number of infant suffocation deaths may be attributed to bed sharing[SIZE=-1]The number of infant deaths attributed to accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed has quadrupled since 1984, according to a report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and published in the February issue of Pediatrics. Although the study did not pinpoint a cause, it suggested that the rise might be caused, in part, by the trend of parents sharing beds with their babies.
The study will no doubt contribute to the debate over bed-sharing, a practice that we have recommended against for some time. Bed-sharing is a bad idea because a parent could roll onto a baby when sleeping, or the baby could get trapped between the bed and a wall, headboard, bed frame, or other object. Babies can also suffocate in soft bedding or fall off the bed.
According to the study, between 1984 and 2004 infant mortality rates attributed to accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed increased from 2.8 to 12.5 deaths per 100,000 live births. Black infants were disproportionately affected (27.3 vs. 5.5 deaths per100,000 births for blacks and whites, respectively) according to thestudy. Beds, cribs and couches were reported as places where deaths attributed to accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed occurred.
"The message for the public is that accidental suffocation and strangulation is potentially preventable by providing babies with a safe sleep environment," the CDC's Carrie K. Shapiro-Mendoza, who led the study, told the Washington Post.
To create a safe sleeping environment, remove everything from the crib but the baby. The safest crib is a bare one. While it's okay to share your room with the baby, sharing your bed is too risky as the new study suggests.
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