Bed-sharing and SIDS: an evidence-based approach

Blair, Peter S; Ball, Helen Louise; Pease, Anna; Fleming, Peter J

Abstract

We read with interest the viewpoint article ‘Bed-sharing is a risk for sudden unexpected death in infancy’ written by David Tappin and his colleagues1 and feel the issues raised and some of the claims made need contextualising. Essentially this is a public health debate about which approach to use when the evidence gets more nuanced. Initial observations of an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) associated with bed-sharing have come under scrutiny and revealed the risk is mainly limited to the particular circumstances in which bed-sharing occurs (if parents smoke, drink alcohol, take drugs or use sofas).2 The public health question is whether we advise against bed-sharing completely or advise parents about the specific circumstances that make bed-sharing more risky.

Citation

Blair, P. S., Ball, H. L., Pease, A., & Fleming, P. J. (2022). Bed-sharing and SIDS: an evidence-based approach. Archives of Disease in Childhood, archdischild-2021-323469. https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2021-323469

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 2022
• Deposit Date: Dec 26, 2022
• Journal: Archives of Disease in Childhood
• Print ISSN: 0003-9888
• Electronic ISSN: 1468-2044
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: archdischild-2021-323469
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2021-323469