Dear Lactfolks,

The question has been asked, why all the misinformation, distorted facts, and
media flurry concerning the studies by the CPSC and Drago and Dannenberg
(both of which, I believe, are based on the same set of incomplete, and
unreliably obtained, data)?

Dr. McKenna and Dr. Gartner express the situation very eloquently in their
letter to Pediatrics (currently in press), but let me try to put it briefly.

These researchers--and the people screening articles for Pediatrics--are
showing a cultural bias because of their blindness to the options and the
missing data.  As Dr. McKenna and Dr. Gartner mention in their letter, these
researchers see information that says "parent rolled on baby" and think no
further.  Culturally, here in the U.S., the idea of baby in bed with a parent
is not "normal."   The idea of bedsharing as dangerous is already rooted in
their minds.  So they do not take the step of asking, "Why?  What,
specifically, happened here?  How can we make bedsharing safer?"

On the other hand, when they see information saying, "baby died in crib,"
they ask questions, concerning the circumstances, the type of bedding, its
location, baby's health record, parenting factors such as smoking, and so on.
 The crib, in and of itself, is acceptable in our society, so of course they
do not think to condemn it as a way to parent, as being intrinsically
dangerous.  They look for ways it can be fixed.

So, I think, they simply did not see that the data was incomplete, and that
they could not logically base such conclusions on the information they had.
(I believe the psychological term for this is "cognitive dissonance.")  Only
when research surveys are standardized and provide more background on
circumstances, with more in-depth investigations, can any kind of
generalization be made.

It is already known that certain factors make bedsharing a risky business:
when parents are intoxicated, obese, or smoke, they should not sleep with
their baby next to them.  Bedding such as waterbeds or couches are no place
for a baby.  These and other factors are already outlined in the AAP's policy
statement on cosleeping, and in references such as William Sears' book on
SIDS, as well as in Dr. McKenna's articles.  However, there are circumstances
which are safe and have been shown to be beneficial for baby and mom to sleep
next to each other.  Yet this knowledge has not been widespread.  These
researchers, and the media, may never have heard of cosleeping considered an
acceptable option.

As Susan mentions, if this type of hysteria--The Chicken Little Syndrome of
research reporting--continues and builds, it does present a danger to any
parent who chooses bedsharing as part of their breastfeeding and parenting
practice.  This is why we, who have the information, need to share it with
our community--pediatricians, coroners, the media--as well as parents.

Lisa Mo
LLLL, Bowling Green, KY

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