Researchers are seeing an alarming rise in infant death rates that they believe is directly attributed to the increase of parents practicing bed-sharing with their newborns in an effort to increase their bond with the child and to make it easier to breast feed throughout the night. This article will provide helpful information to those parents who want to continue bed-sharing to ensure that they and their baby sleep safely.

The accidental asphyxiation death rate of infants during their first year of life more than quadrupled between the years of 1984 and 2004. The Center For Disease Control noted that, while their study didn’t examine the reason for this increase, it was noticed that it seemed to coincide with the rising popularity of bed-sharing. More parents have been practicing bed-sharing, where the baby sleeps in the bed with the parents, as a means to promote mother/child bonding and as an aid in breastfeeding. Since infants require multiple feedings throughout the night, the parents can get a little more rest if the baby just stays in bed with them so the mother doesn’t have to keep getting up and down all night.

Most doctors strongly disagree with the practice of bed-sharing, yet they aren’t comfortable with outright discouraging it because it does help the parents bond with the child and it does help the mother get more rest. And anyone who has had a newborn baby in the house will tell you that the one thing the mother needs above all else is rest!

Pediatrician, Dr. Louis I. Cooper, a pediatric hematologist and oncologist, has published a free guide that he hopes will eliminate these accidental infant deaths caused by bed sharing. “How To Keep Your Baby Sleeping Safely” has all the information new parents need to help them sleep safely while sharing the bed with their newborn babies. Dr. Cooper is also one of the pediatricians who strongly disagrees with bed-sharing but he does recognize that it has it’s benefits and wants to make sure that those parents who do decide to practice it, do so safely to avoid disaster.

Dr. Cooper has lived and practiced for over 35 years in Montgomery County, MD., and over the years he’s seen more than his share of worried parents who have a difficult time recognizing the different signs of early illness in their newborns. For a lot of first-time parents it’s even more difficult because they have no extended family nearby to offer them support and guidance. His free guide, full of advice and safety tips for bed-sharing is being offered in conjunction with his new book, “Dear Parents: When To Call The Doctor For Your Infant Or Toddler” which is aimed at these new parents who need help determining if they can take care of their baby at home of if they should call their doctor.

Dr. Cooper’s manual offers these first-time parents helpful advice on everything from how to stop a nosebleed to what type of thermometer to buy and it includes a very informative chapter on why it’s not safe to share a bed with your infant, along with tips on how to do it safely. A definite must read for any new parent, it’s written in Dr. Coopers own calm and patient tone.

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