>
>I am confused.  According to the abstract, the take home message
>from the Lancet paper
>would be "sleep in the same room as your baby."  This would be
>followed by "As long as the
>mother does not smoke or drink alcohol, the risk of SIDS associated
>with bedsharing is very
>small and virtually disappears after 8 weeks"  This would be
>followed (ideally) with a recap of
>research that shows bedsharing to be protective against SIDS, and
>then by the WHO
>guidelines for safe co-sleeping.
>
>What am I missing?


Nothing!! I think your interprtation of the abstract is just
fine....but there are parents, HPs and media who would want that
'very small' risk quantified, even so.

>Why did the FSID not use this occasion to highlight the danger of putting
>little babies in nurseries by themselves?

Because this is, to a large extent, a debate that has been won in the
UK. Virtually no maternity unit separates mothers and babies like
this any more, and HPs usually advise sharing a room in the early
months. The FSID's advice for several years has been to room-share.

>   And why did Unicef Baby Friendly get bogged down
>in details rather than simply articulating the actual findings of this study?


I think the details are important - and I think expanding on them was
probably necessary. I know I will find their response enormously
helpful when answering parents' questions.

>
>It is disturbing to consider the public health consequences of all
>these warnings against
>cosleeping in the popular press in the US and the UK.  First, when
>the blanket admonishment
>"don't sleep with baby" is all any major publication ever passes on,
>it keeps the public
>ignorant of the guidelines for safe bedsharing, and as such very
>possibly leads to avoidable
>tragedies.


This is so true. There is also the very valid point that some parents
will hide the fact they are bed-sharing,  for fear of being
criticised by their HP. So this means the HP is unable to raise the
issue of how to co-sleep safely.
>  (Isn't there research showing a positive correlation between
>cosleeping and breastfeeding duration?).


Helen Ball's work shows bf parents are more likely to
bed-share....but I don't think she speculates cause and effect; it
may be that bf makes bed-sharing much easier, so you could say that
bf makes co-sleeping more likely, not that co-sleeping makes bf more
likely!

I agree with you, Kerry, that the way this study has been reported
may lead to harm .

Heather Welford Neil

NCT bfc, UK

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