At Risk: A Warning That Babies Shouldn't Sleep on Sides

By ERIC NAGOURNEY
The American Academy of Pediatrics is warning parents again, in stronger terms, that babies should sleep on their backs in their own beds, and not share a bed with their parents.

In an article published yesterday in the journal Pediatrics, the group also recommended that babies sleep in the same room with their parents and be offered pacifiers. Both measures are intended to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS.

"The statistics can't be argued with; the statistics are clear," said Dr. James Kemp, an associate professor of pediatrics at St. Louis University whose research was cited by the academy.
In its last recommendations on reducing the risk of SIDS, issued five years ago, the academy said that in some cases it was dangerous to allow a baby to share a bed.

But the new report clearly recommends against bed-sharing, even as it notes that the practice is increasing in the United States, in part to make breast-feeding easier. The new guidelines also state that babies should not be placed on their sides to sleep, a position that was previously considered acceptable.

The report recommends that babies instead be put in safety-certified cribs, bassinets or cradles, which can be placed next to the parents' bed. It also says that to prevent suffocation, babies need firm sleeping surfaces without soft objects or loose bedding.