Could we do a MN guide to safe co-sleeping?

[SCARYspicemonster]

Or is that just too controversial? I have read the results of the study published in the BMJ, the FSID's misinterpretation of those results and the disappointment of the study's leadership team that the FSID feel that it's too complex a message to give new parents who would like to explore bed-sharing.

Article

Or if MN are wary about putting their name to it (even as a pdf) could we have a sticky with co-sleeping tips?

I really struggled as a new mum to find any reliable information about co-sleeping because it seems like such a taboo in the UK. And like someone else said on the cosleeping thread, I tried not to but ended up falling asleep in a chair with my DS squashed down the side - far more dangerous!

So many of us do it (or want to but are too scared) and a guide to doing it safely would help all new parents avoid the kind of late night manic web trawl I went through.

Am quite prepared to be shouted down here but would like to hear what others think.

UNICEF used to give one with the bounty packs. I think as MN aren't a proffessional body it would be too dodgy to give advice in their name , but linking to any UNICEF info /WHO would be OK I imagine.

Gosh, that is very interesting sleepless. Particularly as it is co-branded FSID so obviously published with their sanction. But there is no link to it on the FSID website!!!

Anyway, following this latest study, UNICEF statement is here and their leaflet is here

MN - please can we put these in a sticky somewhere? I had no idea about the UNICEF Baby Friendly initiative and certainly didn't get this leaflet in my Bounty pack after my DS's birth.

Evening all.

We do already have some stuff about co-sleeping here which includes links to Unicef advice - though not the very latest statement.

But yes, we could do with updating it to reflect the BMJ study: we'll put that on our to-do list.

Cheers Helen - feel a bit silly that I couldn't find that before. My search powers clearly need some work!

The Mumsnet guide is nice - I hadn't seen that. It really touches on the social factors, like making sure your partner agrees which is the sort of thing none of the official bumph thinks about.

Funnily enough, I tried to write about this last night on my blog and it's tricky because there just isn't the information available.

What is the message that we're supposed to spread? The 'official' guidance is that the baby should sleep by your side in a cot, yet as we know that isn't really based in fact.

But we can't get the facts. A reliable study doesn't exist that measures rates of SIDS between 'safe' bedsharing and cot-sleeping. So we're going by our best interpretations of the statistics and writings by people like Deborah Jackson, Dr Sears etc. with a bit of instinct and experience thrown on the top.

It strikes me that there are two parts to the debate - the social part and the medical part. Many anti-cosleepers say cosleeping is just done for wishy washy social reasons, rather than because there are medical benefits.

This is an interesting article by Dr Sears that I hadn't seen before. He puts forward a more scientific reasoning of the benefits of cosleeping and found that breathing were more regulated in babies who bedshared.

Carmen - I like the breastfeeding points made in the UNICEF article I linked to. To me, that combines the medical and social benefits brilliantly.

I am at a loss as to why the FSID logo is all over this safe bedsharing leaflet and yet it isn't available on their website. Rather mixed messages

Yep, that's a good point, Scary.

There's a lot of great benefits to bedsharing but all we ever hear about is the 'risks'

YOu couldn't call it the guide to safe co-sleeping, though, could you? It would have to be the guide to safer co-sleeping.

Bump - anyone else got suggestions or comments?

What about those co-sleeping cots? The bedside ones with no side. Maybe some mention of them on the MN page? They do seem to be growing in popularity. We've got one and it's been fab - no worries about DS and duvets etc, he's just in his sleeping bag next to us, but still within boobs arms reach.