Eugene Kane thinks that co-sleeping is getting a bad name.
Although the Milwaukee Health Department has launched a campaign to educate parents on the dangers of the practice and the importance of providing their babies with a safe sleep environment, Kane tempers that advice.
Kane wants to alleviate guilt that parents may have about co-sleeping as a result of the city health officials' campaign, along with the media's reporting of infant deaths attributed to unsafe sleeping situations.
Co-sleeping isn't the problem per se, according to Kane.
The problem is not doing it safely.
From Kane's column, in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
A rash of infant deaths blamed on co-sleeping has sparked a pretty intense debate.
Spurred by an increase in infant deaths over recent months, the Milwaukee Health Department launched a campaign to discourage the practice of co-sleeping with children and urged parents to use safe sleeping techniques, like always using an uncluttered crib with the child sleeping on his or her back.
But despite those safety warnings, some parents and others think it's not always practical advice for some families. They also insist sleeping with kids can be a loving and even healthy thing as long as safety comes first.
The only thing everyone seems to agree on is that sleeping with a child should never be deadly.
Yeah, I think that everyone should be able to find common ground there. DEATH is not a good outcome from the choice to co-sleep. That's something one would hope to avoid.
According to Kane and his limited sources, the Health Department's educational campaign to prevent infant DEATHS from co-sleeping offers advice that isn't always "practical" for some families. It's an inconvenience, an undue burden.
When co-sleeping is done correctly, it can be a loving, healthy experience.
Patricia McManus, executive director of the Milwaukee Black Health Coalition, thinks the citywide campaign is unrealistic for some residents who regularly sleep with their children and need more education on the issue.
"The Health Department just can't say, 'Don't do it,' " McManus said. "It has to include more than that."
McManus said the issue of co-sleeping is complicated. Although some recent Milwaukee infant deaths involved minorities from poor neighborhoods, the issue wasn't restricted to any one race or income level.
"It's not just about low-income black women or any other group," she said. "This happens with everybody."
Due to the media's attention, she worried that any open discussion about the dangers of co-sleeping could be driven underground by people who feared being judged by society.
"Nobody wants to admit they do it now with all the attention," she said. "So it will be harder to educate them."
Sonya Jongsma Knauss, editor and general manager of MilwaukeeMoms.com (owned by the Journal Sentinel), has written about co-sleeping and shared a bed with three of her four children. She said the media's treatment of the infant deaths has given the practice a bad name.
"I think co-sleeping has been unfairly vilified," said Knauss, a former Journal Sentinel editorial board member. She questioned the idea that co-sleeping was inherently dangerous.
Knauss noted co-sleeping was more prevalent in other countries, including parts of Europe and Japan, where studies show a lower rate of child mortality than in the United States.
Rather than issue edicts against co-sleeping, the Health Department should educate parents, Knauss said.
"So many factors figure into infant mortality," Knauss said. "Co-sleeping, done safely, has not been proven beyond doubt to be more dangerous than crib sleeping.
"In fact, some studies show it's safer and better for both mom and baby."
It seems reasonable to me for city health officials to step up their efforts to warn residents about the possible dangers of co-sleeping with children. But it's also undeniable that responsible parents have been co-sleeping with their children without incident for decades.
When a careless adult falls asleep in a bed with a baby after drinking or using drugs, that's not representative of what most co-sleeping is about. In those cases involving irresponsible people, perhaps we shouldn't blame it on co-sleeping but instead just say what it really is.
Bad parenting.
Good grief.
The Health Department must be thrilled with Kane's column countering its campaign to save lives.
Kane doesn't offer one concrete bit of information as to how an adult can go about safely sleeping in the same bed with an infant.
He concludes that drug and alcohol use by parents is the problem, not co-sleeping.
While drugs and alcohol can be a contributing factor to infant deaths, the Health Department has many other guidelines for parents to follow when it comes to keeping their babies safe.
Safe Sleep Guidelines
Parents should:---Put baby to sleep on their back. Babies who sleep on their backs are safer.
---Provide a separate but nearby sleeping environment, meaning: babies should share a room with their parents, but not a bed. The risk of SIDS is reduced when the infant sleeps in the same room as the mother.
---Never put a baby to sleep on a couch or a chair. A crib, bassinette or cradle that conforms to the safety standards is recommended.
---Make sure that the only item in the crib is a mattress, covered by a tight-fitting sheet. No bumper pads, blankets or toys.
---Never lay a baby down on or next to a pillow. Pillows are extremely dangerous for infants as they can cause suffocation.
---Dress the baby in a one-piece sleeper to keep them warm in winter.
---Keep the room at a temperature that is comfortable for the whole family. But the house should not be too warm.
---Never smoke in a house where an infant or child lives.
There's no question that babies do sleep in the same bed with adults without tragic results, but that's by the grace of God.
Pillows and loose sheets can suffocate a baby in a crib.
Are adults going without pillows and blankets and loose sheets in their beds when they practice co-sleeping?
There should be no toys in an infant's crib to prevent suffocation, yet having an adult sleeping with an infant is not a suffocation risk?
That's ridiculous.
If a small stuffed toy poses a risk, then certainly the suffocation risk becomes much greater when the infant is in bed with an adult weighing 100 or 200 or more pounds.
Kane should do a column detailing exactly how parents and caregivers can co-sleep with infants safely.
Specifically, how is a safe sleep environment for a baby achieved in an adult bed and with an adult as a sleep partner? What are the guidelines? Kane doesn't say.
Kane has done the community a real disservice here by undercutting the efforts of the Health Department to educate the public and save lives.
It's irresponsible and bad journalism and could contribute to an increase in Milwaukee's infant death toll due to co-sleeping.
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