GMTV's Parenting Week - their views on co-sleeping...

[crapcook]

'You must NEVER sleep in the same bed with your baby. It just isn't worth in case you roll over on top of them'.

Uninformed twunts. This is bad, bad advice.

Don't ask me why I'm watching this tripe.

I co-slept with my DS for about the first 20 weeks of his life - after that I gradually moved him into a cot as we were disturbing each other.
Co-sleeping just felt right and I can't explain my decision any more deeply than that.
However, I am also a HV and the current advice I have to give out is that it is not advised. This comes from the "Reducing the risk of cot death" leaflet and the leaflet cites the FSID as a source.
I generally discuss this with parents - many don't want to co-sleep but some do and I just go over the usual advice about when NOT to co-sleep eg if either partner is a smoker, or the parents are especially over tired, have taken any medication which makes them sleepy, drunk any alcohol etc etc.

At the end of the day it has to come down to personal choice. Lets not forget that many comunities throughout the world DO co-sleep as a norm.

UNICEF routinely recommend co-sleeping, but under certain guidelines search for co-sleeping.
I have co-slept with both mine, not because I was told to, but because I instinctively wanted to. It has meade breast feeding a doddle. DD bf till 18mnths and co-slept till 3.5 adn DS is 2 and still bf and co-sleeping (think what you will, but a happier healthier tot I'm yet to meet :-)). I must stress that I completely agree with the unicef guidelines, and feel it should only be advised where appropriate.

Hulababy - that wasn't my opinion. It is what I have read.