I will continue to say this again and again:
Mothers fall asleep with their babies.  It is URGENT, IMERATIVE or whatever other adjective you would like to use, to explain SAFE ways to fall asleep when nursing a baby.
What is happening is really the dangerous thing:  Parents are sitting up on a sofa, or a rocker/recliner when comforting or nursing a little baby and falling asleep in that very unsafe spot.  They need to be instructed to be on a large firm surface (like a big bed!) with no pillows, etc, with a barrier on the side of the surface (like a bed rail!) that is firmly against the side of the bed/sleep surface.  THIS is the safe way to rest/sleep/comfort a baby.  It is FAR safer to plan to sleep with a baby than to sit up on a sofa or chair and accidentally fall asleep.  They need to be told that they can't drink, smoke or use illegal drugs.  No ifs ands or buts. 

If you ask 10 mothers if they fall asleep with their babies, 9 will say yes.  It is really unsafe to not teach our mothers to plan for this. (the one who said no is probably not telling the truth!)

Having said all this, I will also say that if I were a new mom, I would not volunteer this information to my pediatrician or family practitioner.  Isn't that sad?  We're forcing mothers to LIE to their primary care provider about how they care for their babies.

Yes, there is a rising incidence of SIDs in cities where mothers are often in shelters, sleeping in twin beds or cots with their babies.  Often they smoke cigarettes or someone in the family smokes or their neighbors smoke.  This is the highest risk to these babies-smoking, not co-sleeping!  I wonder if the incidence of SIDs would be decreased if NO ONE in a shelter was permitted to smoke?  That will never happen.  They will be told not to sleep with their baby, but never forbidden from checking into a shelter if they or their partner smokes!  (Something is wrong with this whole picture).  Having worked for WIC for many years, and having visited various shelters over the years, there is ALWAYS a crowd outside the shelter smoking cigarettes. This is where these statistics are coming from.

OK--I’m quietly stepping down from my soapbox now..... 


Barbara Leshin-Zucker, IBCLC
22 Cindy Lane
Highland Mills, NY 10930
845-928-6906 (home)
845-551-7527 (cell)

Aim with your heart, adjust with your head, and always, always, always, do all you can. 

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