>After reading this article, I felt myself wondering what exactly they >discovered.. >Is it just me, or does the last line of the conclusions say: >"There is no evidence that bed sharing is hazardous for infants of parents >who do not smoke" I think this article is a good one, because it looks at the circumstances surrounding bed sharing in a way that other studies don't, or don't do quite so thoroughly. I don't think the study discourages co-sleeping at all - if anything, the reverse. It is disappointing that the study did not look at mode of feeding. I had to do a news report (for the day job) on this study and spoke to one of the research team, whom I know very well - Martin Ward Platt, and good paed and very bf-friendly. He has been a good ally in chaging hospital policies to make them more bf-friendly. He was very reluctant to translate the study into saying 'don't bedshare if you smoke' and pointed out that bed sharing has a lot going for it - though this was not the point of the study which looked specifically at the risks of SIDS. Much of the study confirms or reinforces what we know - though the emphasis is on parental smoking and not just maternal. It is the first study I know of which says that even this difference disappears after 14 weeks of age. It is also the first good study that looks at sofa sleeping. This emerged as they did the study, and Martin says he wants more work done on type of sofa, whether the parent had been drinking, and so on. But the heightened risk of SIDS - which he thinks may mean, in these circumstances, asphyxiation - is so closely associated with sofa sleeping, he feels it is safe to advise parents not to sleep on a sofa with their baby. You can see my news report and the response of our cot death charity, The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths, at http://www/feelgooduk.co.uk - click on Update or News. Heather Welford Neil NCT bfc Newcastle upon Tyne UK *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html