Bedsharing doesn’t cause SIDS—
I know, I was shocked too.
But it’s true.
SIDS can occur in a crib and in a bedsharing environment. And a true SIDS case does not have a specific cause to be pointed to, which correlates with the sad reality that many times, we don’t know why it occurred (regardless of sleep surface). A SIDS death secondary to suffocation or overheating, for example, is different because we DO know the cause.
But there are factors that we can, and should, control. In a new study from February 2024 (2), researchers found that almost ALL bedsharing losses had multiple unsafe sleep factors present, like:
Exposure to maternal smoking in utero OR secondhand smoke in the home
Soft bedding, mattress, pillows, etc.
An adult under the influence of drugs or alcohol
Recliner, chair, or couch sleeping
So, contrary to what any medical authority in the West will tell you, bedsharing in and of itself, does not predispose an infant to die of SIDS. Unsafe or chaotic bedsharing though, certainly does- often resulting in a death caused by suffocation due to unsafe bedding, or positional asphyxiation (like can occur with upright sleeping in a chair/recliner), or overheating due to covering with blankets.
This is unpleasant to discuss, and unfathomable to imagine occurring. However, findings like the most recent one from earlier this year clearly indicate that safe bedsharing practices are NEEDED. If parents are given the information about what predisposes their child to great risk, they have the chance to mitigate said risk. If we collectively continue to practice “abstinence only” when it comes to bedsharing, we are knowingly putting children at risk. It is ignorant, negligent, and honestly, elitist, to think that the thousands of years of maternal-child cosleeping is wrong; that its global practice is inherently dangerous and irresponsible; that the complex biological and physiological mechanisms working synergistically between mom and baby aren’t protective; that mothers all over the world pose a life-threatening risk to their children just by the mere presence of their sleeping bodies. It just isn’t true.
I could go on. But you get me.
AND because I know this is highly controversial, and people will come for me, I want to reiterate my point- THERE ARE UNSAFE WAYS TO BEDSHARE. And these conditions can very likely result in the death of a child. HOWEVER, bedsharing is evolutionarily normal and natural, and from a biological/neurodevelopmental standpoint, it is the preferred way for infants to sleep (aka have you tried getting a 4 week old to sleep in bassinet?? You get my point). Because both of the aforementioned facts are indisputably true, safe bedsharing information MUST BE DISSEMINATED to parents. Period.
Sources:
Article from “Pediatrics”, 2.20.24 https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article-abstract/153/3/e2023061984/196646/Characteristics-of-Sudden-Unexpected-Infant-Deaths?redirectedFrom=fulltext?autologincheck=redirected
