Wow, co-sleeping mentioned among the list of risk factors for SIDS? And, not even at the bottom of the list? That’s just wrong. I wonder what the big thing people have against co-sleeping is. (I know this is “according to CBC News…) Even if you would give that co-sleeping is a risk factor for smothering, it certainly does not appear to be a risk factor for SIDS…http://www.parenting.com/article/Baby/Health/Ask-Dr-Sears-Co-Sleeping-a-SIDS-Danger

Co-sleeping is only dangerous if done incorrectly (not safe for smokers, obese parents, beds with scrollwork, fluffy bedding, etc.). When done carefully, it is correlated with lower incidence of SIDS.

Bugs me as well, kind of like headlines that scream about a “co-sleeping death” go on to say in the article that the parent was drunk, abusing drugs, obese to boot, yada yada yada. Um, no, that’s not a co-sleeping death, thanks. That’s a parent who was too drunk/stoned/whatever to put their child in a safe bed to sleep.
Did I just get lucky and wind up with a back-sleeper son? (Curious, since they allude to this in the article text) Even now, if I am to peek in on him asleep, 10 to 1 odds I will find him face up, arms and legs sprawled, looking vaguely like a “thrown rag doll”. I use that terminology as its how my Mom describes what I looked like as a sleeping child…its a pretty accurate visual!

Much of the advice out there comes in the form of rigid prohibitions or requirements that lack nuance or reasonable exceptions. I think the motive is to provide simple rules apply to most people, in order to maximize health and safety. But that oversimplistic approach is problematic for people that may have good reasons for doing otherwise, and it leads to unnecessary guilt, consternation and crazy people screaming at you on the street.
Take some examples: Everyone should breastfeed for a year. Don’t use slings. Cosleeping is more dangerous than crib. Home care is better than daycare. All drop-side cribs are dangerous. Back to Sleep. Each of those things may be the best advice in aggregate, but there are also many exceptions and caveats that go with them which are often left out, glazed over or forgotten.

The only risk factor that has always bothered me was putting my babies to sleep on their stomachs. That is why I ended up co-sleeping with both for the first three months. They both hated the basinett (and I tried for weeks to make them sleep in there), so I took them with my to bed so they could sleep on their backs without waking up every 15 minutes. My daughter is now 6 months old and I still bring her to bed with me some nights when she refuses to go back to sleep in her crib.