Bed Sharing Risks, SIDS VS. SUID, And How to Keep Your Baby Safe While Sleeping....

I know parents want to be educated on many aspects when it comes to your children, we don’t want to intentionally cause our children harm and with so much on the Internet we often go to google or some other search engine! The problem is not everything on the Internet comes from a credible source! If you type into google “bed sharing” The first 5 articles that pop up are in order, “ Bed sharing with babies-is it safe?” Which says there isn’t enough evidence to say if bed sharing is deadly or not which is NOT true!!! We have stats on babies who have died from unsafe sleep and one of the biggest risk factors is BED SHARING. It also talks about SIDS but babies who die from bed sharing or other unsafe sleep environments is NOT SIDS! I will get into what SIDS IS and ISN’T later on! These babies are dying from SUID (Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths) due to unsafe sleep and these deaths are 100 PERCENT PREVENTABLE!!!! Now let’s look at the second article, “ Co-sleeping and Bed sharing” Now this article does speak on the differences between co-sleeping and bed sharing which is good because people use them interchangeably but they are not the same thing! Although, it is hard for parents to decipher between the two when people like Dr.Sears tries to trick parents to say you should co-sleep but what he really means is bed sharing and the media using the term co-sleeping when talking about babies dying while sleeping with a parent. So let me break down how these terms are different....

Co-Sleeping: Is when a baby sleeps in the same room as the parents which is recommended by the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) for the first 6-12 months. Another term for co-sleeping is room sharing which I like much better as it explains sharing a room with your baby much more clearer! By room sharing you are able to feed and change your baby and meet any needs that might arise in the middle of the night, but you are still providing a safe sleep space for your baby.

Bed Sharing: Is when a baby sleeps with the parent(s) in the same space like an adult bed! Bed sharing has been proven to increase the risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) by putting the baby in a vulnerable state they may not be strong enough to get out of, SUID and ASSB (Accidental Suffocation & Strangulation in Bed). Bed sharing increases the risk of a baby dying while sleeping by 40% and also INCREASES the risk of SIDS not DECREASES it like some articles say! This article also talks about drugs and alcohol being a factor in bed sharing deaths and the truth is more babies die with sober parents than those who are under the influence. You can be sober and your baby can still die while bed sharing. There IS NOT a way to bed share and eliminate all risks and that is why there is no 100% SAFE way to bed share!!!! It also sites James Mckenna who is not an MD but an anthropologist! Would you get advice for your baby from a podiatrist, no? Then why would you trust advice from an anthropologist??? Mckenna says bed sharing is good for mother and baby but he is not an expert on infant deaths related to unsafe sleep so he can not be trusted to tell you where your baby should safely sleep! He studies life not death!!!! Now on to article 3... “Bed Sharing with Baby: Risks & Benefits” Now it does touch on the deadly dangers of bed sharing but then cites Dr.Bob Sears who advocates for bed sharing because it worked for his family, that is not a good enough reason to be responsible for causing a higher spike in our infant mortality! He was quoted as saying this, “ Put yourself behind the eyes of your baby," Dr. Sears told The Huffington Post in 2011. "Ask, 'If I were baby Johnny or baby Suzy, where would I rather sleep?' In a dark lonely room behind bars, or nestled next to my favorite person in the world, inches away from my favorite cuisine?" That’s the problem right there! He gives the impression that if you don’t sleep with your baby, he or she will be all alone when they need their parents! NO DR.SEARS that is why it is recommended to room share!!! He says bed sharing reduces the risk of SIDS when research has actually found the opposite true!!! He also says infant mortality in other countries is lower, that is also false. The death scene investigation is not as comprehensive in other countries as it is here and sometimes even autopsies aren’t done, where it is a state law for an autopsy to be preformed on any child who dies unexpectedly in the U.S.!!! It is sad that Dr. Sears is trying to contradict the experts who know that babies are dying from unsafe sleep and thousands of babies at that! Dr.Sears is very good at giving parents false information. As an MD he took an oath to do no harm, and he is most certainly breaking that oath!!!! Now on to article 4.... “Safe Co-Sleeping Guidelines” and of course this is by PHD James McKenna who is not an expert on where babies are safest while they sleep. If you want to talk to the experts on infant death due to unsafe sleep I encourage you to contact your local child death fatality board, coroner, or medical examiner and they will share with you how often babies die from unsafe sleep. McKenna is not an expert in this area and his advice should be taken with a grain of salt, a very small grain of salt!!! and the last article....”A Dream or Nightmare?” It does talk about the dangers of bed sharing but also talks about how bed sharing has been increasing in the last ten to twenty years but there is a quote I would like to share showing the deadly dangers associated with bed sharing, “ Indeed, the SIDS Center of New Jersey reports there is a five-fold increase in the risk of death among infants who sleep in a bed, even when infants are breastfed and neither parent smokes, drinks alcohol or does drugs."We look at autopsy photos every day," Ostfeld added. "In so many of these cases, a slight change in the sleep environment would have made the difference."

You have to keep going through the 10 pages of links to start seeing the real truth of how deadly bed sharing can be. Anyone can find articles to support pro bed sharers and those against it but you need to consider the source! If it is not an expert on infant mortality then I would not trust it. There are so many articles from bloggers which is not a reputable source. You have to really search to find the truth...except I am going to tell you what the statistics say right here....

A great study that really takes a look at SIDS & SUID and how a lot of what they once thought was SIDS they are now learning was actually due to unsafe sleep. It's very in depth but you will be shocked on what you will read. It can be found here....

https://www.nwsids.org/Exposing%20SIDS.pdf

Some quotes from the study....

"Several states have passed legislation ordering a death scene investigation if an infant dies mysteriously. As a result, the percentage of infant deaths determined to have been caused by “threats to breathing” has risen from just 4 percent in 1992 to 16 percent in 2004."

"Such experts have turned up the volume for national standards after a Scripps Howard News Service study of 40,000 sudden, unexplained infant deaths since 1992 showed that geography, rather than medical evidence, often determines whether babies are found to have died from SIDS, suffocation or “undetermined” causes."

"The mystery of sudden infant death has been solved in a growing number of communities in America. But the answer is seldom SIDS. Coroners who carefully follow federal guidelines while probing the 4,000 unexpected infant deaths nationally each year are discovering a hard truth. Most of these babies are suffocating in completely avoidable accidents, a nine-month investigation by Scripps Howard News Service has found. These infants die because they are accidentally smothered by their parents or other children who sleep with them or because they are placed in dangerous overstuffed sofas or heavily blanketed adult beds. Babies rarely die while sleeping alone in a crib."

"“It is far more common for a child to die of asphyxiation than to die of SIDS,” says Dr. Andrea Minyard, the state medical examiner in Pensacola, Fla. “We say this with a heavy heart. But it is an accurate portrayal of what really is happening. Most of the time, it’s either a parental overlay or unsafe and excessive bedding.”

"“I think we have a clearer picture than many others out there,” said Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Dean Sienko of Lansing, Mich. “The benefits of looking carefully at these deaths have helped us to make recommendations that can save infants. Almost every time, we are finding multiple violations of the safe sleep guidelines.” The study found that 11 coroners using federally recommended best practices when examining the deaths of babies discovered, on average, that 72 percent of the 354 infant fatalities in their communities actually were accidental suffocations."

"“A huge percentage of sudden infant deaths will be found to be asphyxia if a proper death scene investigation 52 SHNS Special Report is done,” said Theresa Covington, director of the Michigan based National Center for Child Death Review Policy. “This is what the national evidence is leading us to. They are not homicides or anything else. They are accidental suffocations.” She predicted recognition of that truth will lead to a new infant safety campaign in America. “If we can get to the truth, then we can craft the right intervention strategies so that we can actually make a dent in the number of sudden and unexplained infant deaths. We are doing a disservice to the parents if we don’t tell them the truth,” Covington said. More than a decade after a national campaign to put babies on their backs to sleep resulted in a dramatic decline in SIDS deaths, experts say expanding that message to have babies always sleep alone and in a proper crib would easily prevent at least half of the infant deaths that continue today. The detection rate for asphyxia deaths has grown slowly over the years. Less than 4 percent of all infant deaths were found to be suffocation in 1992. But by 2004, the most recent year for which complete data is available, the rate had risen to more than 16 percent."

"> Authorities in Baltimore said 81 of the city’s 89 unexpected infant deaths occurred in unsafe sleeping conditions from 2002 to 2006. Nearly three-quarters occurred while co-sleeping."

"In the United States each year there are 4,000 unexpected and – until now – unexplained infant deaths. For more than 30 years the deaths tended to be attributed to the vague, catchall diagnosis called Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, still the official determination for more than half of all infant deaths. But a nine-month investigation by Scripps Howard News Service reporters Thomas Hargrove and Lee Bowman uncovered a harder and more painful truth: Most of these babies suffocated in completely preventable accidents. “These infants die because they are accidentally smothered by parents or other children who sleep with them or because they are placed in dangerously overstuffed sofas or heavily blanketed adults beds,” they found. An infant is no match for an adult rolling over in a deep sleep due to exhaustion or alcohol or drugs. Their conclusion – and the cure – may seem harsh but it is simple and straightforward. Babies rarely die while sleeping alone in a crib." 

A lot of times people want all sorts of studies from how many babies died as a direct result of bed sharing vs babies sleeping in a crib to how many babies bed share and survive compared to those who do not survive. The problem is we can't direct you to studies and data that does not exist. Often times a baby dies from an unsafe sleep environment but depending where the baby died could depend on what is put on the death certificate. The statistics of infant sleep related deaths has more to do with geography then science!!! You could have a baby who did from a true SIDS case but that coroner does not believe SIDS exists so refuses to even entertain the idea of that being the exclusion of death. Or you could have a baby who died from unsafe sleep and a coroner believes it was SIDS. The problem is when it comes to an autopsy they is no way to tell a baby who suffocates to one who dies of SIDS, which means we have to rely on proper and complete death scene investigations but often they are lacking! Some investigators use a doll re-enactment which has shown a clearer picture of how the baby died, in what sleeping position, and sleeping environment. Although, some investigators do not use this powerful tool. Another powerful tool is the CDC's SUIDI Form. It is an 8 page in-depth form to be used when an infant dies suddenly and unexpectedly but not everyone uses it. I personally believe if more did we would have a better understanding of the 4,500 infant sleep related deaths each year. We do not have a national standard protocol that has to be used my law so a lot of infant deaths and what they are labeled depends on the individuals doing it. My long winded point is we still have a lot more work to do on death scene investigations to have more accurate data on babies dying while sleeping. 

The picture above is the CDC"s SUIDI (Sudden Unexpected Infant Death Investigation) form that was revised in 2006. From the data I have been able to find only a small amount of states use this form as you can see in the picture below...

                                        This information can be found by clicking here

Here is what we do know over decades of babies dying while sleeping. We now have safe sleep guidelines from the AAP that follows...

          Please click here to read current safe sleep guidelines from the AAP & NIH

Let me explain the difference between SIDS & SUID

SIDS- The term sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) was first used at an international conference on the causes of sudden death in infants. The current definition of SIDS, developed in 1991, is the sudden death of an infant younger than one year that remains unexplained after a thorough case investigation, including a complete autopsy, examination of the death scene, and review of the clinical history. We need to remember that SIDS is NOT a cause of death, but an exclusion of death. That means that a SIDS diagnosis SHOULD ONLY be used when no other cause can be found. The problem is pathologists and medical examiners can not tell the difference between a baby who mysteriously dies compared to one who was accidentally suffocated! Many people think the difference will be shown on an autopsy but sadly, it doesn't That is why when an infant dies suddenly and unexpectedly it is crucial for a complete and thorough death scene investigation be done so we can find the answers why so many babies are dying in their sleep every year! According to the CDC on SIDS and SUID they said this...

"About 3,500 US infants die suddenly and unexpectedly each year. We often refer to these deaths as sudden unexpected infant deaths (SUID). Although the causes of death in many of these children can’t be explained, most occur while the infant is sleeping in an unsafe sleeping environment.
Researchers can’t be sure how often these deaths happen because of accidental suffocation from soft bedding or overlay (another person rolling on top of or against the infant while sleeping). Often, no one sees these deaths, and there are no tests to tell sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) apart from suffocation.
To complicate matters, people who investigate SUIDs may report cause of death in different ways and may not include enough information about the circumstances of the event from the death scene."

 According to Dr. Dinesh Rao's Forensic Pathology page he says this about positional asphyxia that happens quickly..."In some cases, death is rapid due to of reflex cardiac arrest, and asphyxiation signs are absent. Environmental suffocation, congestion and cyanosis may or may not be present, petechial hemorrhages are rare." To learn more you can click here: http://www.forensicpathologyonline.com/e-book/asphyxia/suffocation-smothering

SUID- When an infant under the age of 1 year dies suddenly and unexpectedly, it is called Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID).  Some of these deaths may be caused by suffocation, asphyxia, infection, metabolic diseases, heart problems, injuries (accidental or non-accidental), SIDS, or other reasons. In some cases, the death is considered to be from an undetermined cause.

We are learning through thousands and thousands of babies dying while sleeping that we are finding more babies are dying more from suffocation due to an unsafe sleep environment then those who were found in a safe sleep environment with no unsafe sleep factors that caused the death.  Which this tells us is that safe sleep saves lives and protecting your child from a sleep related death in the first 12 months is imperative and that is why safe sleep is so crucial to infants... Here are some pictures that may paint a picture of how bed sharing increases the risk of death due to unsafe sleep in infants!

The numbers do not lie...too many babies are dying every day, and thousands every year form something so easily prevented if we all realized the seriousness of why babies MUST be put in a safe sleep environment. This is why the recommendations are what they are because enough baby deaths have told us that safe sleep is a HUGE factor in why these babies are dying!!! I honestly believe if EVERYONE was educated on safe sleep practices and was 100% followed we would see a very big decrease in the over 4,000 infant deaths we see every year while they sleep! Safe sleep will save our babies and reduce the infant mortality rate in the U.S. that is caused by unsafe sleep. When we know better, we need to do better!!! Our children are our future so shouldn't we do everything to make sure they see the future and not die when they are just babies???

SAFE SLEEP SAVES LIVES.....

We do not want a baby to sleep alone in a dark room away from their parents. Please put your baby in their own sleep space that is appropriate and recommended for infants but do room share where the baby sleeps in your room so you are still there to meet their needs, but do NOT sleep with your baby and give them the best chance to make it to their first birthday. If you would like more information you can contact us on our FB page: www.facebook.com/pausesafesleep