![]() My wife is from China, and I know for example that many people use relatively hard beds with minimal padding, which is similar to the recommendation in the US for infant crib mattresses. There are countless variables that could come into play. ![]() Apparently, in some Asian countries, deaths attributed to SIDS are significantly lower despite bed-sharing being the norm. I remember reading a very interesting stat when I was preparing for our baby to be born. It's important to remember that SIDS is not fully understood yet. Nothing we do is ever without risk, as parents we always do everything we can to mitigate those risks within our particular circumstances. I bedshared with my 6 month old for a short while when he was waking up every 30 min because it was the only way for both of us to get sleep - this was worth it to me because I would not have been safe driving with those levels of sleep deprivation. I encourage you to look at the ways to make it as safe as possible. Ultimately the decision is down to what you feel comfortable with, knowing the risk will always be somewhat higher when your baby shares your bed, but that depending on your circumstances it may still be a really low risk or worth the trade off. The studies she looks at also do not find any elevated risk of SIDS from co-sleeping after 3 months of age if both parents are not drinking or smoking. The SIDS risk for a breastfed baby and non smoking, alcohol-free parents is 2.75x higher with bed sharing vs baby in a crib, however the absolute risk is low - lower in fact than the absolute SIDS risk for a breastfed baby sleeping in their crib when both parents smoke. Emily Oster has a section on cosleeping in her book Cribsheet. Even at 1yr of age when deaths are no longer are classified as SIDS, there can still be risks from unsafe sleeping environments (in a crib or adult bed). This may be 6 months for your baby, or you may feel they are not there yet. Bedsharing becomes safer when your baby is able to roll out of the way and “hold their own” so to speak. The majority (90%) of SIDS deaths occur in the first 6 months of life, although often suffocation and SIDS deaths are lumped together and shouldn’t be - there is some evidence to suggest that bed sharing lowers true SIDS deaths, but increases risk of suffocation and entrapment. That being said, there are also risks to sleep deprivation in a parent, especially if that parent then has to go drive somewhere or operate machinery. that can present a suffocation or entrapment risk. Alone in a crib will always be the safest place for a baby because there are no covers, pillows, people, etc. It’s not about when it becomes “safe” but when it becomes safer and how to lower the risk. Bedsharing will never be 100% risk-free, but nor is taking your baby in a car. I feel like a change of language is needed here when we talk about safe sleeping. ![]()
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