How to Sleep Safely with Your Infant

There is much controversy on the subject of new mothers sleeping with their new baby. One researcher and doctor, Dr. James J. Mc Kenna, from the University of Notre Dame conducted research on this issue. After his team studied the issue for weeks, he and his team believe that it can be done safely. He feels that when done safely, sleeping with your baby reduces not increases the risk of SIDS and other sleep problems.

What is SIDS? SIDS is short for sudden infant death syndrome, a sad, devastating tragedy for new parents. The new mom puts their baby to sleep, then finds the baby dead in the morning. SIDS has decreased significantly with teaching new moms that the safest sleeping position for the baby is on their back. Most deaths occur when the new baby is from 1 month to 4 months old.

High-Risk Infants: African American infants, Native American babies, male infants, premature babies, low birth weight infants; and babies born from teenage mothers all have an increased rate for SIDS.

How smoking and prenatal care affect SIDS death rates: Mothers who smoke while pregnant and smoke around the new baby increase the risk three fold to have their baby die from SIDS; Prenatal care is extremely important because studies show that mothers who received no prenatal care have a higher SIDS death rate.

More factors that contribute to SIDS: abnormal development in the brain area that controls breathing and arousal; shortage of Myelin which is involved in nerve signal transmission; low oxygen levels; heart beat abnormalities; and QT syndrome (an electrical disturbance in the baby's heart that causes the heart to beat rapidly); colds and respiratory infections.

How sleeping with your child may be beneficial: When children sleep with mom, they nurse more often and sleep more lightly. They respond to the mothers movements more. This is important because it is suspected that part of the problem in SID death is arousal deficiencies and long periods of deep sleep. When the baby is next to you, you are more aware of their breathing, lack of breathing, and other sounds that may indicate the baby is in trouble.

Guidelines For Sleeping Safely with your child from the American Academy of Pediatrics:

Always lay your baby on their back when putting them to sleep. Babies should be kept warm but avoid overheating. When they are too warm, they sleep more deeply which makes them difficult to wake up. The room should be comfortable.

Never drink or take drugs that may cause you to be abnormally drowsy. This will cause you to be less aware of your baby's needs and breathing problems.

Always leave your baby's head uncovered at all times when sleeping. Putting them to bed in a "sleep sack" is safer than baby blankets. Regular baby blankets can end up covering their mouth and nose, causing possible breathing problems.

Make sure your mattress or the baby's mattress fits tightly against the head board or crib walls, so that the baby cannot get caught in gaps. Take out all pillows, comforters, quilts, and other soft plush toys that might accidentally impede the baby's breathing.

Never leave your baby in your bed alone.

There is what is called a "co-sleeper bassinet'. One side of the bassinet is open and fits next to your bed. You are right there to hear the baby if they need you and you will get more rest than with the baby in your bed.

When in doubt, always seek advice from your physician.

References:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sudden-infant-death-syndrome/DS00145/DSECTION=causes

http://www.fbhc.org/Patients/Modules/sids.cfm

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sudden-infant-death-syndrome/DS00145/DSECTION=causes