Digest This: Co-sleeping and bedsharing

(Photo: Flickr/Insight Imaging)

Digest This is a weekly, hour-long online discussion hosted by WHYY’s Health and Science team. Join us every Tuesday at noon. Log in at lunchtime to pose questions to experts and our reporters, voice opinions, and connect to people with similar concerns.

 

THIS WEEK’S TOPIC: Putting baby to bed … safely.

Many pediatricians put it this way: Sharing a bed with your infant is simply not safe. They say the risk of suffocation or strangulation is just too great. Other experts and many moms say bed-sharing allows parents to connect with their child and monitor a baby’s needs. They say it ups the chances for successful breast feeding. Public health officials say better education on safe sleeping could prevent sudden, unexpected infant deaths, but what should the message be? Join our discussion on co-sleeping and bed-sharing.

When: 12:00 noon Tues, Oct 27

Where: Right here. Click the button in the right sidebar review an archive of the chat.

Moderator: Taunya English

Our experts: Biological anthropologist

James J. McKenna Ph.D directs the Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Laboratory at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of Sleeping With Your baby: A Parents Guide. Visit James McKenna’s blog    

 

 

 

 

Neonatologist Michael H. Goodstein, MD, FAAP is a clinical assistant professor with the York Hospital Office of Newborn Medicine. He is director of the York County (Pennsylvania) Cribs for Kids Program. Visit the Cribs for Kids website    

 

 

 

 

 

 

More info:

Taunya’s report Putting baby to bed … safely. American Academy of Pediatrics – SIDS Policy Recommendations La Leche’s recommendations on sleeping with your baby La Leche League of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania SIDS of Pennsylvania