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Safety first: Reducing the risks of sleeping with your baby
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Safety first: Reducing the risks of sleeping with your baby

C. Fetherston
The Conversation, Vol.22 May
The Conversation Media Group
2013
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Abstract

With so much contradictory information about whether it’s safe for mothers to share a bed with their baby, it’s easy to see why parents are confused. The release yesterday of a paper in BMJ Open added to this confusion, by warning all parents to simply avoid bed sharing because it increases the risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) five-fold. We know that sharing a bed with a baby can be risky in certain circumstances, such as when bedding is soft and the baby can overheat, if there are siblings and pets on the bed, and if you smoke, or are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Falling asleep with the baby on an armchair or couch can also be dangerous. But for the many mothers who want to bed share with their baby, risks can be minimised to provide a safe sleeping environment.

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