Talkback: 50% of cot deaths linked to co-sleeping

I was really scared about cot death and over heating Harry but despite this I found it really hard not to fall asleep when BF him.   He used to wake so frequently I got less than an hour in bed at any given time and it got worse as he got older (when he was new born I may have got an hour or two).  I tried so hard not to fall asleep feeding him but quite often used to wake up and realise I had falled asleep in a chair although there was not chance of me smothering him as he was on my lap and I was upright (legs up and he was on a support cushion so he wouldnt go anywhere).    I tried so hard to keep awake and really struggled, I think the need to give parents more advice on how to help your baby sleep better from a younger age especially when BF - feeding can be SO frequent and this would may prevent this sort of probelm.

He eventually slept through the night at around 7m, I also quite BF and this age to prevent him wanting this as comfort to sleep

Lolas in a bedside cot still (no side on her bed, clipped to ours so like an extension for her) We had to do it to sleep, we are only now ready to put the side on!

Its impossible to stay awake for night feeds, its like tourture after a while, maybe if they had some better advice for us we wouldnt end up co-sleeping!

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I always bf  mine in bed with me at night.I'd drop off every time.I left the telly on,the light on,anything,but I'd drop off they'd go to sleep feeding,but I always put them back in the cot as soon as I knew they were properly asleep.I still drop off feeding Merlin,and he's bottle fed,but same again,he goes straight in the cot.I don't want my babies to be dependent on me to get to sleep.I wrapped them and gave them a raggy from birth,and they use these as sleep aids,not me.All of them have always been happy and secure,and go straight into their beds.

I don't think there is much advice given on settling babies and establishing good sleep habits.

Cot death is the unexplained death of a baby,so any study that finds any cause or link to anything we could do to prevent it,maybe cases can be reduced further.

I breastfed for the first 4 months and always ued to sit in bed with my litle man whilst doing so there is no way that I could stay awake, after having an accident I used to sit on the end of te bed to try and stay awake but I just couldn't do it and it was safer to sit up in bed as at least I wouldn't drop him, after I got ill with the dreaded swine flu!! I couldn't bf coz of the medication I was on so we changed to bottle, luckily he took to it and he had shoter feds so I was always still awake when he finished.  I've always been really worried about cot death and swore before I had him I would never fall asleep, but its impossible especially when breastfeeding which is what they recommend!! you can't win

I am glad I am not the only one I felt so guilty but no matter what I couldnt keep my eyes open. 

I BF my baby and allowed her to sleep in bed with me till she was about 9 months old. I used to BF her lying down and she would sleep in the crook of my arm. I don't have a partner so I guess this reduced the risk but I never felt that she was in any kind of danger of being squashed as I purposely had her in this position for sleeping. I also had no problem adjusting to her own cot and she sleeps 12 hours most nights. I think there should be more advice for people who are going to co-sleep and the best way to do this as nearly every Mum I know has co-slept with their baby! 

I joined  the NCT and on one of the groups I went to the ante natal teacher told me that lots more people co sleep, than will admit to it, I didnt actually let him sleep in my bed on purpose but fell asleep with him on my lap, definatly more advice needed on all fronts I think when it comes to sleep....

i used to feel lola lying down as if i sat up id end up wide awake until the next feed, my hv encouraged me to co sleep, i never did it puposefully as i found it stressfull and uncomfortable since i have always slept on my front, so the bedside cot seems perfect, Im curious to know what the risks are with that? She has a grobag and we have blankets not quilt, which we tuck under the bottom of bed so it cant be flapped onto her.

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What the articles about cot death never mention is that the best thing you can do reduce risk of cot death is to breastfeed - breastfed babies have to work harder to breathe while feeding so they start strengthening their airways from day one (and by the way breastfed babies have better lung function as adults for the same reason)! Odd since breastfeeding is in many cases the reason why people co-sleep that noones mentions it when discussing cotdeath risk factors. I didn't co-sleep to begin with (had baby in crib next to my bed) but that was only because I slept better when he wasn't next to me - as he got bigger I used to feed him in bed to try to make him sleep for longer so I suppose that was co-sleeping (I still dont believe that 4am is morning!). A lot of the info about cotdeath riskfactors is based on a study done in New Zealand years ago where they identified risk factors such as the sleeping on front, co-sleeping, swaddling/over-heating but also that breastfeeding was something that minimised the risk - yet this little bit of info is never divulged. I'm not saying they shouldn't be telling us that co-sleeping is a risk - I just think they should be telling mums all the facts so we can make fully informed decisions, not just decisions supported by those who profit from formula production!

i didnt know that, thank you curly!

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I didnt know a lot of that either, interesting to know, need to try and persuade some people to give more advice to new mums about the whole thing....

I'm very suspicious about these findings. A cot death is an UNEXPLAINED death. Are they really saying that half all unexplained deaths happened in a co-sleeping situation, or are they saying that half of babies that die in their sleep are actually suffocated (which wouldn't be a cot death)? And how many of these are linked with alcohol/smoking/drugs as opposed to safe co-sleeping? Unfortunately, the article doesn't link to this "new study".

A recent study by one of the leading experts found that co sleeping actually decreased the incidents of cot death, it is not natural for mammals to sleep away from their young. Totally agree with Curly about breastfeeding being a huge preventative measure too.

Co sleeping can be dangerous if you don't know how to make it safer but on the whole with a breastfed infant and a mother and father who don't drink or smoke or take sleep inducing medications co-sleeping is not dangerous, it also helps with breastfeeding relationships too.

Unicef do a great leaflet you can see online about how to co-sleep safer. Safer cosleeping is considerably safer than being really REALLY sleep deprived and falling to sleep holding baby on a sofa too which sadly can happen if baby doesn't settle in a cot

Toni x