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| Bed-sharing 'raises cot death risk fivefold' | Bed-sharing 'raises cot death risk fivefold' |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Sharing a bed with a newborn increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome fivefold, research claims. | Sharing a bed with a newborn increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome fivefold, research claims. |
| The risk applies even if parents avoid tobacco, alcohol and drugs - other factors firmly linked to cot deaths. | The risk applies even if parents avoid tobacco, alcohol and drugs - other factors firmly linked to cot deaths. |
| The BMJ Open research compared nearly 1,500 cot deaths with a control group of more than 4,500 parents. | The BMJ Open research compared nearly 1,500 cot deaths with a control group of more than 4,500 parents. |
| Current guidance in the UK is that parents should decide where their baby sleeps, but says the safest option is in a crib or cot in the same room. | Current guidance in the UK is that parents should decide where their baby sleeps, but says the safest option is in a crib or cot in the same room. |
| No consensus | No consensus |
| Many other countries, such as the US and the Netherlands, go further and say parents should not share a bed with their baby for the first three months of his or her life. | Many other countries, such as the US and the Netherlands, go further and say parents should not share a bed with their baby for the first three months of his or her life. |
| Prof Bob Carpenter, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, carried out the analysis and says the UK should now follow suit and "take a more definitive stance against bed-sharing for babies under three months". | Prof Bob Carpenter, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, carried out the analysis and says the UK should now follow suit and "take a more definitive stance against bed-sharing for babies under three months". |
| The government said it had asked the public health watchdog NICE to urgently examine its guidance on co-sleeping in light of this new study. | The government said it had asked the public health watchdog NICE to urgently examine its guidance on co-sleeping in light of this new study. |
| Unicef UK is concerned that any guidance that recommends the total avoidance of bed-sharing could end up forcing parents into much riskier practices such as feeding in arm-chairs or sofas where the risk of suffocating the baby is far higher. | Unicef UK is concerned that any guidance that recommends the total avoidance of bed-sharing could end up forcing parents into much riskier practices such as feeding in arm-chairs or sofas where the risk of suffocating the baby is far higher. |
| Others question how robust the latest analysis is. | Others question how robust the latest analysis is. |
| Prof Carpenter maintains avoiding bed-sharing would save lives - by his calculations, 120 of the 300 cot deaths that occur in the UK each year. | Prof Carpenter maintains avoiding bed-sharing would save lives - by his calculations, 120 of the 300 cot deaths that occur in the UK each year. |
| In his analysis, one or both parents had been sleeping with their child at the time of death in a fifth of cases. | In his analysis, one or both parents had been sleeping with their child at the time of death in a fifth of cases. |
| Only one in every 10 parents in the control group said they had shared a bed with their baby. | Only one in every 10 parents in the control group said they had shared a bed with their baby. |
| Even in very low-risk breastfed babies, where there were no risk factors for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) other than that they had slept in their parents' bed, 81% of cot deaths in infants under three months of age could have been prevented by not bed sharing. | Even in very low-risk breastfed babies, where there were no risk factors for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) other than that they had slept in their parents' bed, 81% of cot deaths in infants under three months of age could have been prevented by not bed sharing. |
| Prof Carpenter says he is not suggesting that babies should be banned from being in the parents' bed for comfort and feeding. | |
| This has been investigated in previous studies and has not been found to be a risk factor, provided the infant is returned to his or her own cot for sleep. | This has been investigated in previous studies and has not been found to be a risk factor, provided the infant is returned to his or her own cot for sleep. |
| But he says evidence shows that babies are safest sleeping alone in their own cot in the same bedroom as their parent or carer. | But he says evidence shows that babies are safest sleeping alone in their own cot in the same bedroom as their parent or carer. |
| Francine Bates, of the safer baby sleep charity The Lullaby Trust, said: "We recognise that some parents will choose to sleep with their babies as opposed to placing them in a cot or a Moses basket next to their bed. | Francine Bates, of the safer baby sleep charity The Lullaby Trust, said: "We recognise that some parents will choose to sleep with their babies as opposed to placing them in a cot or a Moses basket next to their bed. |
| "The Lullaby Trust supports parental choice but we would also urge every new mother and father to weigh up the known risks of sharing a bed with their baby and, in light of their own situation, take appropriate precautions. | "The Lullaby Trust supports parental choice but we would also urge every new mother and father to weigh up the known risks of sharing a bed with their baby and, in light of their own situation, take appropriate precautions. |
| "Our core message remains that the safest place for a baby to sleep for the first six months is in a crib or cot in the same room as a parent or carer." | "Our core message remains that the safest place for a baby to sleep for the first six months is in a crib or cot in the same room as a parent or carer." |
| The Royal College of Midwives offers the same advice. | The Royal College of Midwives offers the same advice. |