JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Co-sleeping is associated with an increased risk of fatal sleep accidents.
On Sunday night, a 10-week-old girl died after what the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said appeared to be a case of co-sleeping.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there are about 3,400 sleep-related deaths among U.S. babies each year.
Pediatrician Dr. Ryan Cantville said co-sleeping is not safe and is not a safe practice.
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None of us think as parents, who are co-sleeping that ‘Oh, anything’s going to happen to me, I know that you’re telling me don’t co-sleep, but nothing’s actually going to happen to me’. But the statistics and tragedies happen,” Cantville said.
Expensive and inexpensive purchases such as baby monitors that can attack a baby’s heart rate can be a solution to co-sleeping. But Cantville says those devices are trendy but not always necessary unless advised by a doctor.
“I think what they’re trying to do is model a monitor that parents and young children have to be on who have conditions that require their pulse or heart rate to be monitored constantly,” Cantville said. “But if you’re lucky enough to have a, ‘healthy, normal child,’ there’s no indication to have that. I think it’s kind of a false sense of security that’s really going to cause more parental stress, parental anxiety and worry that has benefited and safety for your child.”
Ebony Roundtree said the idea of using excess equipment to monitor her child makes her paranoid.
“I just think if I put it there, I’m just taking extreme measures,” she said.
The American Academy of Pediatrics said if you do fall asleep while your baby is in your bed – be sure there is nothing that could cover the baby’s face and as soon as you wake up, move your baby to their own bed.
Avoid falling asleep with your baby in other spots too, like couches or armchairs.
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