Milwaukee Ads Wake Parents Up to Risks of Co-Sleeping

This is just one more scary information to new parents that would only increase their anxiety, instead of learning to enjoy the babyies’ arrival. We as Americans live with so many warnings that we have become a people no longer willing to take risk or see what is normal.

My one big questions is, how many people in the world live in spacious environment to afford a child a bedroom to him/herself, and to have temperature control year round? I can assume at least three quarters of the mothers in the world sleep with their babies, for warmth, protection and for lack of space.

If sleeping with babies is so dangerous, how did the world become so over populated?

Okay, Rebecca….because an exhausted parent that hasn’t slept deeply for a year or two is going to be a great parent. Sure. We’ll see in 20 years what kind of psycho helicopter parent you are with a kid that can’t buy popcorn at the movie theater without calling you to ask how to do it.

I am so angry. The campaign is a bunch of lies. Co-sleeping lowers SIDs risks in infants when done properly. A baby’s breathing will become in sinc with moms and lowers chance of them not breathing properly. If you want to lower deaths teach proper ways to co-sleep. No pillow tops, no smoking,no drinking before bed, no meds that make you sleepy, no blankets over baby,and no drugs. A poster above said about rolling over on the baby. I have never rolled over on my kids. I co-slept 5 children and never an accident. I slept curled around my kids holding them. If the mortality rate is so high then they need to look and see if some of thos parents were not drunk or stoned.

My 5 month old son died in 2009. I am from Milwaukee. I did not co sleep with my son. The one, and truly, only one thing I am thankful for, is that his death was beyond my control. The heartache, tears, pain, and emptiness when a baby dies, but then to top that with the GUILT when the reason was within your control? As there may be benefits, the risks are too deadly and not worth the lifetime of sadness. I support my city and the campaign, way to go MILWAUKEE! One less parent to have to plan a funeral for their baby is worth the cost.

In most countries sleeping with your infant is the norm! and SIDS is lower in all those countries compared to the U.S. who is trying to demonize sleeping with your baby. Not to mention the emotional benefits from sleeping with your baby for both the mother and child are great.

I dont get what harm a warning like this is. All it is doing is bring something that has already happened to many times to our attention. What you do with this information is up to you. But why on earth would anyone critisize something that could only save lives. Personally I never thought that sleeping with a baby all night at any age was a good idea. I feel like it will only lead to sleeping issues later when you no longer want to share your bed with your child. I knew that it wasnt safe but I always assumed that was common sense. Your babies safety should always come before your own needs. Now people cant say they didnt know and I think that scares them so they get mad. Anyways heres the FACTS, do with them what you will but dont say you didnt know. Its so sad that so many have already died but it will be even sadder when the next one does.

I co-slept with my now 18 year old, and we all paid for it dearly. She would not leave the bed until she was 10! The lack of a sex life ruined my marriage. The nightly fights tarnished the relationship with my daughter. There is NO good reason to co-sleep except for lazy parents who don’t want to get up at night to tend to their baby. If this campaign saves ONE life, it will be well worth it. GO MILWAUKEE!

This ad is defiantly an eye opener for me being a mother but I have co-slept with my 2 children and stopped as they got to the age of one, I am such a light sleeper and my kids were nursed feed babies, so I can admit that being a full time worker, a full time student, its not considered lazy when the only time to spend with my kids was in bed

I am a health and fitness professional and mother of two. My husband and I slept with both of our two sons when they were babies, after we researched the pros and cons, which I believe helped them to grow to be the strong, healthy and confident men they are today. We never had any problems whatsoever! As people have mentioned, most parents in other countries sleep with their babies and young children for protection as it is safe. That is of course- if there are no drugs, sleep aids etc. being used by either parent, which- sad to say in America, is greatly overused!! If we want to find out the truth about why there are so many infant deaths, look at the environmental factors (toxins in the area), shots etc. Once you study that, you will be educated as to the true causes of SIDS. Also, it is the opposite of lazy to nurture and care for your child all night as opposed to putting them in a crib in the next room. It simply means you love your baby enough to give up some sleep of your own. My husband and I found plenty of time to be “alone” and would never change the way we raised our kids!! I hope this ad helps, but feel other causes of SIDS should be mentioned as well.

Have they looked into other things beyond this? Like parents killing their children? I am sure there are some deaths that are SIDS related, but this seems fishy to me. Would be an effective (apparently) way to kill your child. Pretend to roll over on top of them during a “co-sleeping” situation. This whole story is disturbing to me on many levels, but this seems obvious to me. Anyone else agree?

This is the most ill informed ad campaign regarding co-sleeping (put on by city officials that were paid by whom? The JPMA? Do your research before you market these terrifying ads to the average protective parents that do not realize their hearts are in the right places but their heads are still under the influence of doctor spock, who bowed to the almighty dollar. Actually, using fear to steer people into babies ‘r’ us or some other giant conglomerate will not work in the long term. There is more than money and power to be had). Milwaukee city officials, you should be ashamed! What motivation lies beneath these ad campaigns? We are not ignorant sheep needing to be herded into retail to purchase unnecessary items that will be sold the following year or two in a yardsale, or tossed into the landfills because that once was new and beautiful does fall apart some day. To anyone in milwaukee or anyone else seeing this ad and if you want some really good information on the subject on the advantages of co-sleeping vs. why it’s more dangerous for your baby to sleep in a crib by himself (the rate of sids is greater when baby is alone than in the bed of its parents; for that matter, the incidence of sids is far greater than a rollover incidence) please find a copy of this book: Good Nights: The Happy Parents’ Guide to the Family Bed (and a Peaceful Night’s Sleep!) by Maria Goodavage and Dr. Jay Gordon (Jul 24, 2002). Best read ever as I had just become a new parent. Did you know that when a baby sleeps alone, and happens to die of sids, that child is generally between 2-4 months of age. In the book listed above, you will find why it’s safer to have your baby in bed with you during this critical period.

As a 23-year veteran paramedic, I would say to you who think this is propaganda, try answering the question “why didn’t I just make them sleep in their own crib” to the mother and father who suffocated their baby maybe an hour ago or 3 hours ago or even maybe 6 hours ago. Those parents had the same arguments as you who think it’s propaganda. It’s senseless and preventable. Kudos to those for taking the initiative. Maybe more paramedics in the future will be able to sleep at night because they dealt with one less dead baby.

Maybe an ad like this — although misleading, because SIDS is not the same thing as suffocation — is needed for the idiotic portion of the population. Co-sleeping is for people who have common sense, e.g. people who don’t smother the baby with pillows and blankets, and people who don’t “ruin their marriages” by letting their pre-teen children sleep in the bed with them. My 6-month-old son co-sleeps with us about 75% of the time. He naps in his crib and we are currently “weaning” him from our bed, getting him used to sleeping in his crib overnight. He’s a very happy, healthy and smart little boy.

This ad really upsest me….I coslept with both of my children..I think it is very healthy and wonderful for the kids….If you know you are a heavy sleeper ..Then dont cosleep with your kids….If they are gonna run ads like this..>Then they need to start running ads with pictures of abused children..I am sure more kids die from child abuse then co sleeping

I want to see the proof of their allegations! I have co slept with all 3 of my children I dont see the harm in it. As a parent you are fully aware of the child beside you and no I have never rolled on to my child, common sense tells me that hey I have a baby next to me I cant roll period. People are moronic.

I bought a crib 6 months before my first child was born and knew that’s where it would go. A baby needs it’s own room. My mother looked at me strangely and gave me a bassinette so it could sleep in our room. I humoured her. What did she know-she was an old woman when she had me anyway. When it was born,it became-”he” and I couldn’t take my eyes off him for 2 weeks. I wouldn’t put him in the bassinette much less the crib. Are you joking? This was the most beautiful person in the entire world and I breatsfed on demand,which for this baby,was every 45 minutes. I had 3 babies and they all slept with us. I tried putting our 3rd in the crib but she climbed out at 11 months and rather than have a broken neck,she went onto a small trundle at the foot of our bed. When she wanted to wander,the drop was 1 foot. When she wanted me-which is really what she wanted,she just crawled up the bed to ours. I can’t explain this to doubters,but I was always hyper-aware of where the babies were. I slept with my arm around them. They slept in the middle with a rubberized diapering rectangle -about 24″x18″ and a receiving blankey over it-no pillow. They also had a blanket rooled up and wedged behind their backs for reccomened sleep posture for infants. Children who are uncomfortable co-sleeping will let you know if you pay any attention. The middle child liked napping in her crib during the day. She would stand up and yell till we left. But all my kids walked at 9 months and were very communicative without having to be verbal yet. Yup-#2 was a screamer. However,since she had collic from 6 PM till the next morning,co-sleepiing was the only choice. She screamed all night,every night for 9 months. Poor dear. Totally different than her brother but a great baby who thrived.
Do NOT buy a used crib for $25. They may not be up to safety standards. And sleep issues? Seriously? I would have sleep issues if my newborn was anywhere else but next to me. Maybe bottle babies sleep though the night. I never had one of these remarkable sleepers but congrats to you lucky people. Mine were screamers and hungry-and extremely healthy. None had ear infections or even colds till they were in grade school.

I think co-sleeping is natural and beautiful. I think the mortality rate of the infants in MN is probably due to toxic environments, pesticides, poisoned drinking water and ignorance.

I wish all you people knew what you were talking about!!!!!!!!!! I think it should be passed!!! I lost my Son just 6 months ago to sleeping with an adult… and i had to lay y son to rest and it was the hardest thing i will ever have to do.. If he had been in his bed then he would still be here with me….. This is for real it does happen…. There is nothing you can do but put your child in their own crid of bassnet of pack in play if that is all you have…. I wouldnt want anyone to have to have to go through what myself and my husband and my little girl had to go through and r still going through…. please think about it before you place anychild in the bed with you……

First let me start of by saying that when both of my daughters were young we co-slept. I honestly felt that having them close to me while they slept was safer than them being by themselves. On Oct 18th 2011 my opinion and my life changed forever. My five month old grandson went to sleep with his father (co-sleeping) and never woke up. My family and I are doing our best to deal with the lost but how can you ever be ok after a tragedy like this. I know that we always think this will never happen to us. We tend to take things for granted and think that because we got away with doing it before that it will be ok until it is not. By than it is too late your heart is ripped out of your chest and you are left with a BIG hole. I pray and I urge anyone who reads this to PLEASE PLEASE never co-sleep with an infant EVER or you may have to pay a price you can not and should not have to pay. Please take heed to this warning, I pray that no one ever has to feel the pain and lost that my family is feeling. Rest in peace Marcus Mom Mom loves and misses you more than she can ever express.

As far as I know thousands of babies in developing countries (Asia and Africa) sleep with parents but they never die because of co- sleeping simply because parents are alert and get up even if the baby stirs. It seems to be a problem only in developed countries. What should be emphasized is to have responsible parenting which includes NOT DRINKING and sleeping with the baby!!

Perhaps Milwaukee should look into what kind of supports they have in place for postpartum depression… All studies that I can find to date that indicate any “danger” to co-sleeping/bed sharing site that the danger lies when parents are intoxicated, on meds or drunk, drugs etc. A mother with severe PPD may suffocate her child and blame co-sleeping…. a mother with PPD that is unsupported and untreated will be more likely to turn to drugs and alcohol. I’m not saying it couldn’t and doesn’t happen, a blanket or pillow or arm getting in the way… but there is something very… off about all of this. I co slept with both of my children. When they were quite young we used an “Arm’s Reach Co-Sleeper”, like a pack and play but goes right up to the bed. When my son was two weeks old he was in the co sleeper. I woke up very suddenly, as though someone shouted my name. My son was not breathing, he was blue and cold. I was able to revive him and he is okay. If he had been in another room, he would be dead. I would have heard nothing on the baby monitor, there was no cry… just silence. It’s not natural to have your baby far from you. It’s a sickness in our culture. My children co slept in the co sleeper when small and then when older in the bed. They were in their own beds by age 3. There are so many problems with this campaign… it’s taking a small tinted lens and looking at a huge problem in a skewed way. There needs to be MUCH more studies to see what is really going on here and how best to help these families.

Maybe our SIDS rate is so high because we pump our mothers full of so many drugs when delivering so she can experience little to no pain or so that doctors can get out of there and get home…so mom ends up with an induction or a C-Section. Eventually, we’ve got to realize that these drugs can’t be good for our little ones’ bodies. Heck, if they can make us puke for days and make our bodies shake uncontrollably, think of what they can do long-term to a baby whose neurological system is underdeveloped. I doubt our alarming statistics have much to do with cosleeping or not–that’s up to mom and dad. Statistically, you can look at drug use among different populations and break it down further and you probably have your answer. The US has the highest infant mortality rate among ALL developed countries…and we’re the only one that regularly induces mothers and routinely schedules c-sections. Coincidence? I don’t think so… I think it’s the amount of drugs being pumped into our babies through their mothers via a doctor’s orders claiming it’s “safe” so he or she can go home for the night.

Cosleeping is baby in the same room. Bedsharing is baby in the same bed. It would be nice if these “experts” would at least use the proper terminology.

Rolling over on the baby while sober is rare. Do you routinely roll off the bed? No, because your body has learned when it feels the end not to go further- the same happens when you sleep with a baby. There are a number of precautions that do need to be taken, but when done correctly it is perfectly safe and a life saver for some parents as it is the only option that works. Being extremely overweight and under the influence are just two of the reasons to not bedshare. But that is common sense- something that seems to be dead and completely forgotten these days.

MAL- the US has the highest rate of infant mortality because we attempt to save many pre term babies that would be considered stillborn in other countries. Those numbers don’t hit their infant mortality stats like they do ours. A micopreemie has a far better chance in the US than in other countries, but unfortunately the mortality rate is higher due to their extreme immaturity. It has nothing to do with the c-section rate or post partum pain meds.

My Problem with this add is that it is extremely one sided.
Yes If you are a hard sleeper, on medication or have been drinking then you shouldn’t be co sleeping. I also wonder how many of those deaths we by a stressed out parent who was either depressed or never meant to be a parent in the first place and intentionally either killed their child or allowed their child to die (same thing really) because they knew they could get away with it. there is such thing as co-sleeping. I even co-slept with my daughter in the Hospital and the Nurses and doctors encouraged it. I co-slept with my son he was almost 2 and my Daughter is 1. Ill co-sleep with her til she is two.

These statistics are incomplete. Science is not saying anything. statistics are.
However this study doesn’t say:
how many parents were taking medications
for sleep, depression, anxiety (probably caused by these adds),

it doesn’t say how many of these parents may have been high, drinking, smokers (I have asthma and even the smell of cigarette smoke on my husbands clothes can cause me to have an asthma attack or to be severely short of breath.)

How many of these parents intentionally smothered their child (admittedly this would be hard to know)

My daughter sleeps in the bed with me. MY husband is a VERY hard sleeper but i wake if she even moves her hand. My daughter NEVER sleeps between my husband and i she sleeps on the other side of me. (its a precaution i take)

i was sick for a couple nights and my daughter slept sitting up in her bouncer right next to my bed for two nights because i was medicated.

Now as strongly as i support “bed-sharing” (co-sleeping) i would never encourage anyone else to sleep in the same bed as my child and i would never allow my husband (or most other people) to sleep in the same bed as a young baby/infant where i wasn’t between them. also not knowing how people other then my husband sleep at night i would never allow them to co sleep with my infant child (saying i was in the hospital or something)
co-sleeping can be done safely

this add is inappropriate

im sure if i had time i could come up with more problems with these statistics but i dont

durr, big giant pillows like that, that’ll kill a baby. I co-slept for years, light sleeper. I kept her away from the pillows, fixed the blanket only cover her from the neck down if necessary, and my arm was her pillow. co-sleeping is safe if you take safety precautions.
don’t drink, keep smothery things away and set up a guardrail on the bed if you can. I co-slept because of nursing but mostly because I had no choice. She wouldn’t sleep in a bassinet and the nurses brought her back to me every time she cried, the only way either of us got sleep in the hospital was to co-sleep. after that she was used to it.

I have a few issues with this article. I am from Milwaukee and when I first seen the ad a few weeks ago I KNEW it was going to be an issue. It was a bit graphic for myself. I also co-slept with BOTH of my children who are now 12 & 8. I knew at ALL times where my babies was in the bed with me. I’m not saying ALL the parents that lost their bady during co-sleeping was HIGH but in most of the cases that was the case. If you mix drugs, smokings, drinking and other issues I’m sure those ALL those played a factor why the baby passed away. One other thing that really bother me now seeing this getting national attention. When they made these ads there was ALSO one made of an African American baby sleeping next to an knife, why wasn’t that one posted as well in the national news? Either way the ad may have been grapic for other as it was for me, maybe they could have created another way of getting the message out just less abrasive.

Apparently, the people involved in this Ad Campaign have a displaced hostility toward mothers that is consequently endangering the infant(s) in these ads. Sharp objects and weapons, such as knives, guns, etc. do not belong within a child’s reach. Most new mothers know and are aware of the many dangers that threaten their children. Suffocation is just ONE of the risks that infants face. This ad is in poor taste, does not apply to the public in general, and is seeking to shock and produce a negative reaction, that should not be experienced especially when driving on a busy highway.

This ad makes perfect sense to me. The knife in the bed next to the baby is a
comfort object. It is probably the first thing he saw when he was born. The
picture is cropped so you dont see the soothing sleep sound machine that plays
the soft whisper of the electric suction, gentle beeping of several medical
devices and voices of five or six people when he was born. If the picture seems
well lit, it is. You guessed it, the night light is a bright surgical beam that
comforts him to quiet slumber.

Dont worry about him though. They keep the breast milk far far away so he
doesnt remmember how difficult it was to try and latch for the first time a day or two after he was
born.

Ingenious who did a thorough analysis and figured out that it must be sleeping near their parents that is killing babies.

I sure hope the knife in the picture was photoshopped next to the baby. That is far more dangerous than co-sleeping!!!

Co-sleeping is not as traditional as people like to think. My grandmother was born almost a century ago, she lived through WWII and neither she nor any of her friends or family ever co-slept with their children. She used to caution my mother to never allow herself to fall asleep while feeding me.
I realise that some people find it cute to see a sleeping baby next to an adult but I really believe that people should put their children’s needs before their wishes. It’s called being a parent.

I would never co-sleep with a kitten because I’m scared that I would smother it. I don’t understand why people don’t extend the same consideration to their children. Why is it that some people place cuddles and convenience above their children’s lives?
I can’t help but suspect a post-natal abortion when I hear yet another co-sleeping death story. Parents should be held liable! It’s not the poor baby’s fault that their parents were too stupid to listen to advice.
This Parents Have Suffered Enough (TM) crap should stop!! Enough with pitying careless/stupid/lazy/stubborn parents! Who’s feeling sorry for the dead child? Anyone?

As I sit and read all these posts, I could add my two cents about how my 2 children slept in their own rooms, in their own beds, from birth, and slept through the night almost immediately. I could talk about how they are outgoing and personable and not fearful and clingy. That they have never been afraid to stay at sleepovers, or with sitters, and never hide in my skirt when people speak to them. They have always been in very good health, barely ever even getting colds. My oldest is a brilliant honors student, is taller than either of her parents and breaths very well, thanks. My younger daughter is also tall, and a gymnast in great health. I could talk about my sister in law who is a militant co-sleeper with 4 kids. Right now she is having a war with her 5 year old to get him out of her bed. He also throws a tantrum every time she leaves the house without him. Her kids will not stay over at friends’ houses (her 11 year old still calls in the middle of the night, sobbing to be picked up), or in a nursery, or play group, etc. As for breathing better and being smarter and healthier… one has asthma, several have learning issues and are behind in school, and I can’t go into the list of all the physical ailments and problems these kids have. We would be here all day. I could talk about all this and argue my point, like all of you have, until I’m blue in the face. Everything I’ve said is true but it really doesn’t prove anything. Her kids may have been just as much a mess if they had all slept in a crib (although I can’t help but feel their separation anxiety is directly related to the co-sleeping), and my kids may have been just as healthy and outgoing if they had slept in my bed. You all can argue the two sides with your personal stories about your own kids, all day, but the only posts here that really matter at all, are the ones where a child died. Fact: Kids have died sleeping with their parents. Fact: This is a preventable death. Question: Do you want your kid to be a smart, tall and breath well, or do you want them to be alive? It doesn’t matter what your kid’s IQ is if they’re dead. I hope it gives you comfort to talk about his strong rhythmic breathing at his funeral. Even if all these claims by the co-sleeping team, about how healthy it is for kids to sleep with their parents, is true….given the choice, I’ll take a short, dumb, asthmatic LIVE kid, thanks.