"Babies sleep safest alone."
If you're in New York state,
you've probably seen or heard the TV or radio ads put out by the Office
of Children and Family Services declaring this. If you're elsewhere,
chances aren't bad that your county has launched a similar effort,
trying to warn everyone not to sleep next to their babies no matter
what.
They're well intentioned, trying to prevent tragic deaths
of infants. But by applying a scientific double standard and by
refusing to differentiate between safe and dangerous ways to cosleep
these public health campaigns are promoting distortions of the more
complicated truth that may have the side effect of increasing SIDS and
accident deaths, both still much more common causes of death.
As I write in today's Metroland article "Babies Sleep Safest Where?," here are two of the central problems with saying "babies sleep safest alone":
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