DR. McKenna said when I heard him Saturday, the distinction needs to me made
between co-sleeping and co-bedding. The two are not always the same. So the
statistics often show something like 62% of babies who died of SIDS were
co-bedding but actually they were co-sleeping or vise versa. That babies
have evolved but beds haven't. So when a death is reported in the statistics
no distinction has been made up to this point as whether the baby was
sleeping on a safe surface. Prone or supine, was baby sleeping with a parent
or a grandparent, was baby sleeping on the sofa or in a water bed, or any
other unsafe environment, with  a 16 year old mother who had no prenatal
care, and doesn't know that that baby is not a teddy bear, Smokers should
not co-bed or co-sleep. In fact it's probably not wise to have anyone who
smokes in the same bed. What about alcohol, drugs each. Or is this a mother
who got good prenatal care , 35 years old and made a decision to sleep with
her baby not because there is no other place for her baby to sleep but
because she believes it is best for her baby. One of the points that I
thought was so good was that he pointed out that both parents if sleeping
with baby need to acknowledge that the baby is in the bed. What he meant by
this was that they both know in their minds that a baby is sharing sleep
with them in the same way that one knows in the middle of the night where
the edge of the bed is and so we don't fall out of bed.  This issue makes me
think of how the home birth statistics were interpreted. All out of hospital
births grouped together.
-----Original Message-----
From: Automatic digest processor <[log in to unmask]>
To: Recipients of LACTNET digests <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thursday, May 06, 1999 12:03 AM
Subject: LACTNET Digest - 5 May 1999 (#1999-186)

             ***********************************************
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