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Day two of David Pecker testimony wraps in NY Trump trial; Supreme Court hears arguments on Idaho's near-total abortion ban; ND sees a flurry of campaigning among Native candidates; and NH lags behind other states in restricting firearms at polling sites.

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The Senate moves forward with a foreign aid package. A North Carolina judge overturns an aged law penalizing released felons. And child protection groups call a Texas immigration policy traumatic for kids.

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Wyoming needs more educators who can teach kids trade skills, a proposal to open 40-thousand acres of an Ohio forest to fracking has environmental advocates alarmed and rural communities lure bicyclists with state-of-the-art bike trail systems.

Bed Sharing Safely: Not All Co-Sleeping is Created Equal

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Monday, May 13, 2013   

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - When it comes to the potential risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome from a mother sharing her bed with her baby, there is a push to change the message from "just don't do it" to "here is how it's done most safely."

The shift is needed because co-sleeping will never be eliminated and not all forms are equal, said Dr. James McKenna, director of the Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Laboratory at the University of Notre Dame. For example, McKenna said, associated risks are nearly eliminated by breastfeeding.

"You get babies sleeping in lighter sleep and you get mothers who are breastfeeding sleeping in lighter sleep, and that's a very significant difference as regards each being able to track and monitor and respond to the presence and physical activities of the other," McKenna said.

Another method McKenna deemed safe is what he calls separate-surface co-sleeping, where the baby is not in the bed with the parents but close by in the same room.

"Any time you can find a situation with a committed caregiver sleeping within sensory proximity of the baby, in a situation where each can detect and exchange sensory cues of the other, wherever you get that situation, you have a very protected environment," he said.

At the same time, McKenna noted, there are situations where co-sleeping never is appropriate, such as on a sofa, recliner or waterbed. The other major risks include bed-sharing while using alcohol and drugs, along with maternal smoking.

"The mother having smoked during her pregnancy ... damages the tissues of the baby's arousal mechanism," he said. "We know that any kinds of desensitizing drugs or alcohol or sedatives obviously blunt mother's 'responsivity' to her baby."

The rate of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome has dropped by about 50 percent in the past two decades, but still is the leading cause of death for those younger than a year old.

More information is online at cosleeping.nd.edu.


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