What do you guys know (not think, not opine ) about the true risks of co-sleeping.
I co-slept with all of mine, and Dr. Sears (whom I greatly admire) recommends it, but I never hear anything but bad things about it. When my infant daughter was hospitalized the nurses didn't want me to sleep with her on my cot. I hear nurses warning new mothers against it. What confuses me is that in the anti-SIDS recommendations they advise against co-sleeping, though my understanding is that SIDS is, by definition, *not* suffocation.
Is co-sleeping dangerous because we westerners don't tend to sleep on mats on the floor? Can its dangers be mitigated in some way? Or is the danger a bit of hype.
I'm not saying it wouldn't be scary or the parents wouldn't rightfully be mad (that's why I fed the baby in the room when I had parents sleeping through their cries). That doesn't make it a "security" issue. It would be a security issue if some unknown person were able to get on the unit, past the nurses, into the room and took the baby. Security personel wouldn't stop a nurse from taking a baby out of a room because it isn't a security problem. It's a bad idea on the nurse's part.
I'll just have to agree to disagree. I think taking ANYTHING from a patient's room without her knowledge IS a security issue. Especially a newborn!
Just one more point, then I'll stop beating the dead horse.
If you were to go into a patient's room and she was in the shower, oblivious to her crying baby and your presence, would you take the baby without identifying yourself and telling the mother?
If not, what is the difference?
Awake or asleep, parents have the right to know the whereabouts of their babies, and who has them.
Awake or asleep, parents have the right to know the whereabouts of their babies, and who has them.
Thank you. I was beginning to think no one got the point I was trying to make. So don't call it a security issue if that bothers you. But when the patient calls out to say her baby is gone, to the unit clerk who doesn't know the nurse took the baby out of the room, and the baby is in the nursery but the other nurses didn't notice the baby was brought in, and the patient's nurse went off the floor for lunch...... well, there's your security issue. All of a sudden, you're searching for a baby all because the mother wasn't told the baby was taken out of the room.
True. I have yet to hear of somebody rolling over on their dog. Even a chihuahua. :chuckle
You know, not only have I not rolled over on any of my 4 children who have slept with us, but I have yet to fall out bed. Somehow, even in my sleep, I know the edge of the bed is there.
That is a great point - we do learn to not roll off the bed at some point in our young lives. I'm usually right at the edge of the bed - and I've never fallen off either.
The safe co-sleeping rules include things like bedding and headboards, etc., Fergus.
Just one more point, then I'll stop beating the dead horse.
If you were to go into a patient's room and she was in the shower, oblivious to her crying baby and your presence, would you take the baby without identifying yourself and telling the mother?
If not, what is the difference?
Awake or asleep, parents have the right to know the whereabouts of their babies, and who has them.
As I said, I don't take babies out of the room without telling parents ever (because it would be scary for them and make them mad and generally be a bad idea). I agree that they have the right to know where their child is and it's just a bad idea to mess with that.
My only point is that doesn't make it a security issue. If it were a security issue, don't you think security staff would have some policies in place to deal with it? I doubt they do, because it doesn't concern them at all. You're never going to get a security talk in orientation that includes "If you see a pp nurse carrying a baby out of a parent's room, stop her or call us and follow them at a safe distance". You get that advice if it's not a staff member (code pink they call it in my hospital) because THAT is a security issue. A baby's security is not at all at risk by a pp nurse taking her out of the room (the parent's peace of mind may be, but that's different).
Thank you. I was beginning to think no one got the point I was trying to make. So don't call it a security issue if that bothers you. But when the patient calls out to say her baby is gone, to the unit clerk who doesn't know the nurse took the baby out of the room, and the baby is in the nursery but the other nurses didn't notice the baby was brought in, and the patient's nurse went off the floor for lunch...... well, there's your security issue. All of a sudden, you're searching for a baby all because the mother wasn't told the baby was taken out of the room.
Again, I agree it isn't a good idea to take the baby out of the room without telling the mom, but even the poster that did this simply fed the baby and returned it. I haven't worked with any nurses stupid enough to take a baby out of a parent's room without telling them, put it in the nursery, not tell anyone and leave for break. Maybe I'm just lucky to have such good coworkers:chuckle
The safe co-sleeping rules include things like bedding and headboards, etc., Fergus.
steph
Yep, I have gone over that list with people before. Unfortunately a lot of people just ignore those safety rules because they are so sure they "would just know" if something happened to their baby in the bed which results in preventable deaths every year.
At risk of getting flamed here;) , I really think we need to take all of our supposed "guidelines" (AAP and all the others...) and use our own critical thinking when we are looking at a parenting issue and not a health issue. For me, co-sleeping was much safer for my children. I am a VERY HEAVY SLEEPER! Now, you say, "how can a heavy sleeper say it is safer for her to sleep with her children?" I can answer that! I fall asleep anywhere when I am tired, including rocking chairs - especially when I am breastfeeding. I HAVE dropped a child to the floor while nursing in a rocker! I have NEVER dropped a baby from a safely positioned bed and I have certainly never rolled on my babies. I do sleep soundly, but I always wake in the same position WHEN MY CHILDREN ARE NEXT TO ME. Not when they are not. I have back problems and frequently change positions in my sleep when my babies are not with me in bed. When they are, however, I wake up in extreme pain from being in one position for two or three hours. So, although I truthfully do not really "enjoy" co-sleeping (due to the pain issues) for my children it is much safer in bed with me when I am tired instead of up in a rocking chair! I do always keep my babies between me and the wall, because my husband moves a lot in his sleep regardless of the presence of a baby.
Anyway, I have issues with using the banket "guidelines" of any medical recommendation board over critical thinking and individual situations. Look at all the times the recommendations have changed through the years!!!
What do you guys know (not think, not opine ) about the true risks of co-sleeping.
I only co-slept with my kids when they were sick and then my dh would sleep in their bed or on the couch if they were still crib age.
My daughter recently had Wyatt and she said to me before he was born she would never co-sleep with her baby. She said so even in the hospital but she has been co-sleeping with him every night. She keeps him on her chest so she won't accidently roll on him. Her dh sleeps on the couch. I think it is wrong. I think children need to learn to relax and go to sleep in their own beds. Babies you can rock to sleep and then put in bed. I don't have a problem with that. Wyatt has stayed here two different nights. I bathed him and fed him and he was in the bassinette by 8:00 pm, slept until 3:00 or 4:00, fed him, changed him, put him right back to bed and he slept until at least 7:00 am. She says she can't get him to sleep in his bassinette or his crib. I think she's wrong but she has to make her own mistakes. I just hope Wyatt doesn't get hurt in the process. I get really scared knowing he's in bed with her. He's 8 wks old. I wouldn't risk it.
) about the true risks of co-sleeping.
True. I have yet to hear of somebody rolling over on their dog. Even a chihuahua. :chuckle 
Jolie, BSN
6,375 Posts
I'll just have to agree to disagree. I think taking ANYTHING from a patient's room without her knowledge IS a security issue. Especially a newborn!