Here are the facts. Every year over 2000 babies die from SIDS, and in addition, at least the same amount from suffocation, whether it be in a crib with blankets, comforters and bumpers, or in a parent’s bed. SInce the Back to Sleep Campaign in 1194, SIDS deaths have been reduced by at least 40%; recent SIDS research, which links SIDS to a seratonin deficiency in the brainstem, still can’t be diagnosed in babies, which means that for EVERY BABY, following Safe sleep practices is IMPERATIVE. No loose blankets, no comforters, no stuffed animals, and lose the bumpers too. Babies should be in the crib, on their backs, with only a wearable blanket over regular sleepwear, but not bundled so much that they will overheat. The debate about co-sleeping rages on, and each family must make informed decisions that are right for them, but statistics show that babies ARE dying in their parent’s beds. In Massachusetts last year, 38 babies died in their parent’s beds.
Take a guess at how many babies under the age of 1 died in car crashes last year? it was less than 100. Just think how many babies would be alive today if safe sleep practices were mandated the way that car seats are. That isn’t practical or possible, unless all of the baby bedding companies are put out of business, but we all can spread the word about following safe sleep guidelines to our family and friends. And another thing…. ditch the sleep positioners. The AAP and the CPSC do NOT approve of them, and babies have suffocated using them. When your baby is ready to roll over on his/her own, that’s fine. if they can roll, they can also scoot down and suffocate on a positioner. you don’t need it. Just keep the fluffy bedding out of the crib til they are at least 1; and at that, some babies could suffocate because they don’t have the motor skills to get a blanket off of their face. Your best bet is using a wearable blanket. Some companies like Halo SleepSack make them all the way up to toddler sizes.

I hope I have answered some of the questions raised in this forum, without angering the co-sleeping parents out there. it’s all about SAFETY and COMMON SENSE. and doing whatever we can to keep our babies safe and alive!!!

just my 2 cents – i co-slept with my son (now 5 yrs) until he was 2 years old (no crib or bassinet). i didn’t have one of those “co-sleep” pads or any special “devices” you see being sold (apparently to keep you from rolling over on the baby..?) i suppose to me those kind of negate the purpose of co-sleeping. i’ve always thought it weird that as a culture americans put their babies in a completely different room and close the door. on a biological/instinctual level, i wanted my baby as close to me as possible (kind of how a mother animal would keep her babies near her to protect them) my son was a persnickity baby (very fussy, high maintenance, high energy) and he would calm down so much when place on my chest or cuddled against me in bed (heartbeat to heartbeat) and he would fall asleep more quickly when i would breathe in rhythm with him. anyway, i know co-sleeping isn’t for everyone, but to me it seems the most natural thing in the world. it seems far more strange to take a baby and shut it away in a different room. i wish people weren’t so afraid of co-sleeping – i never once felt like i’d accidentally roll over on my son or suffocate him etc. your body just somehow “knows” where your baby is (you know how mothers tend to say you never fully sleep once you have a baby – you always have one ear listening and one eye open) It’s just interesting how different cultures treat babies.

Give me a break. I saw the photos in the article and they are so over done. No one keeps their babies cribs piled high to the 9′s with blankets and toys. They did that for the magazine. Everything is so put together for show. Dont freak out saying that their room is dangerous. You cant judge from seeing a picture perfect picture. I doubt their room looks like that for any other reason other than for show.

I’m Dutch and over here duvets, pillows and bumpers are never used. So I’m a little surprised every time I see a photo of a nursery in America where they are used.

Over here blankets are used and not just sheets. I never knew why a duvet wasn’t allowed in a crib until I held one in front of my mouth and tried to breath. Almost impossible.

I also didn’t know so many babies died of SIDS in America. Over here it’s much less… In 2002 the number was 22 and that could be less. It’s hard to tell whether a baby has died of SIDS or deliberate suffocation.

Is the first sentence from this excerpt of this CBB entry a typo?

“This is why it’s so important to put baby to sleep on their stomach. Since the “back to sleep” campaign launched in 1994, SIDS rates have been reduced by more than 50 percent (the equivalent of sparing the lives of more than 3,500 babies each year.)”

Sarah’s note: Yes, I believe Danielle updated it this morning and there was that mistake and some problems with spacing, but I corrected it so it should show up soon!

CBB- In the updated post under SIDS, fourth bullet down, should it say “to put baby to sleep on its back” not “its stomach”? I may be reading it wrong…

Thanks for the information… From someone who is looking to start a family soon and has no nieces or nephews to relate the experience to, any safety information is greatly appreciated…

Though I don’t think the People magazine cover is the place to do it, it would be nice to have something to give us inspiration for building a high style yet safe environment for our little ones.

cc

I think cosleeping is great, but it doesn’t work for everybody. I also have a happy, healthy toddler, who never sucked his thumb (though I don’t really understand how this relates to where they sleep), and we did just fine with the baby in a bassinet in our room for the first few months, and then in his own crib with a video monitor (no bumpers or toys, and with a Halo sleep sack – which is the best invention EVER!).

I personally was always worried about my pillows or blanket suffocating the baby. I couldn’t sleep very soundly whenever we tried to cosleep, because of the worry. I know lots of cultures cosleep, and I’m not knocking it, but I think to suggest that it’s the best way to get a happy baby, is kind of ridiculous.

All babies and all parents are different and have different needs. Even at two years old, my son still cannot sleep comfortably in bed with us – he prefers the containment of a crib, I guess.

As far as JLo’s nursery is concerned, I think a lot of new moms probably make this decorating mistake, but they learn when they talk to other moms they know. Maybe (like others have suggested) the nursery was done up just for the shoot. I think it’s likely. I also agree with Tink and others that there has been a huge decline in auto deaths and cribs deaths since new safety rules have been put into place. I really can’t imagine why anybody would argue AGAINST progress when it comes to safety. Would you choose to not learn the Heimlich Maneuver because people 50 years ago didn’t worry about choking babies? Weird.

Whoa, cc. There are a lot of gross misconceptions in your post. I don’t mind when people have different opinions, but I do mind when they haven’t done enough research into the real issue. Crib Sleeping is not “dangerous” for newborns if the conditions are right. Co-Sleeping can be just as dangerous (if not more) if it is done incorrectly. SIDS is not a case of an infant’s heart stopping, it’s their breathing that is the problem. Babies do not need to regulate their heartbeats by an adults. Babies have naturally fast pulse rates (ranging well over 100 BPM), while adults pulse rate should be under 100 BPM.
The sad fact of the matter is, a parent can do everything ‘right’ and their child can still die of SIDS. Science doesn’t know why, but they are getting closer to an answer.

Children do not develop “attitude” problems (which, can a 1 year old really have a bad attitude??) from a lack of co-sleeping, they develop behavior problems from inconsistent or bad parenting. Also, thumb sucking in a child that young is not a sign of anything other than that a child had learned a self soothing technique. It’s GOOD for babies and kids to have a self soothing technique because mom and dad can’t always make it better. They need to have some control over if they can make themselves feel better.

cc–My daughters slept in their nurseries and in their cribs until they were old enough to move into a “big girl” bed. They are both very well-adjusted, happy children who never sucked their thumbs or used pacifiers. We get comments all the time on how well-behaved and polite they are when we take them out in public (they are that way at home, too). While I am not knocking co-sleeping, I think that your son’s achievements should be attributed to you as a mother, and not necessarily the sleeping arrangement.

There are many factors that lead to SIDS, some of which are still unknown. By eliminating as many as you can (smoking in the house, back to sleep, animals and blankets in the crib, sleeping by windows) you can reduce the risk to your baby.

And I agree with some other posters about the celebrity nurseries–I think that much of the hazards are merely being set-up for photo shoots. I remember Brooke Burke responding to the controversy over her nursery hazards saying that normally the mattresses are of the approved height and the draperies are tied back and out of reach. Pretty pictures sell more copies than safety-conscious pictures.

I think what everyone has to keep in mind is that “safety rules” are different from one country/continent to another.
As a baby, I was put to sleep on my tummy, then a decade later doctors started saying infants should be put to bed lying on their backs, and now they say babies should be put to bed lying on their side, and every time the reason was to prevent SIDS.
When I was a babysitter, parents would tell me to put their kids to bed lying on their backs, and the babies would always turn in their sleep and you’d find them on their tummies and curled up (you know, the cute nappy-in-the-air position), and after a while the pediatrician would say that it’s because it’s the position they were in in their mother’s tummy and they felt reassured sleeping in that position and baby should be put to sleep on their tummies or side.
I guess in the end it’s up to each parent and their baby.