https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 13 Apr 2026 01:11:44 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/co-sleeping-is-unsafe-ads-in-milwaukee#post-39178 Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:33:08 +0000 MrsBrewer 39178@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Yoyo: Yep, I don't have any children yet, but I think that private time will still be very important to keep. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/co-sleeping-is-unsafe-ads-in-milwaukee#post-39174 Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:30:22 +0000 Mrs. Yoyo 39174@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@ mrsbrewer: This was a big reason why I decided not to cosleep, aside from safety risks. We did have the baby in his own bassinet beside our bed, but started putting him in his crib around 11 weeks. I thought it was important that our room/bed still be ours. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/co-sleeping-is-unsafe-ads-in-milwaukee#post-39145 Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:01:10 +0000 MrsBrewer 39145@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I guess I just don't understand how co-sleeping is good idea. Yes it's convenient. But what about being a wife? A husband and wife need alone time too, I know that right after the baby is born that's not on their mind right away, but if you co-sleep for a lengthy period of time, I can see it affecting a marriage? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/co-sleeping-is-unsafe-ads-in-milwaukee#post-39137 Wed, 21 Dec 2011 12:57:26 +0000 brownie 39137@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I have heard all of the scary stories about co-sleeping/bedsharing. Logically I understand it isn't okay. But when your child won't sleep at all (wakes every 3 hours and CIO for 2 of those hours) you do what you have to do. I have to work and I have to sleep to go to work. So he sleeps with me. Neither of us moves at night. When he moves I wake up instantly. We have this little cocoon. There are no blankets on the bed (I turn up the heat and wear pants and long sleeves). I go to sleep early so that I am not over tired and he sleeps so much better. </p> <p>I don't think it is right for everyone but we did get to that point. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/co-sleeping-is-unsafe-ads-in-milwaukee#post-39135 Wed, 21 Dec 2011 12:55:18 +0000 Rosie Girl 39135@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think that people need to be more educated. I co-slept with DS and never had any problems, and I will probably do it again when DD is born. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/co-sleeping-is-unsafe-ads-in-milwaukee#post-39101 Wed, 21 Dec 2011 12:22:29 +0000 ecogirl 39101@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Of course on a parenting site you will have lots of room to agree to disagree. I was an oncology resident and am friends still with many doctors and none I know cosleep due to the inherent risks. As I pointed out from the study, there is a large amount of deaths caused by sober loving parents naturally moving in their sleep and either wedging their child between the mattress or headboard or simply rolling on top of them. I don't think its ever appropriate to co sleep in the same adult bed. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/co-sleeping-is-unsafe-ads-in-milwaukee#post-39068 Wed, 21 Dec 2011 11:57:58 +0000 mrbee 39068@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think there's been more education and discussion of these issues since the ads came out... that part at least is unambiguously positive! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/co-sleeping-is-unsafe-ads-in-milwaukee#post-39066 Wed, 21 Dec 2011 11:56:02 +0000 MrsBrewer 39066@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm from Milwaukee also, and I see these ads almost everyday. I agree with them quite honestly. I don't believe in co sleeping, and I think it can be quite dangerous. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/co-sleeping-is-unsafe-ads-in-milwaukee#post-39059 Wed, 21 Dec 2011 11:46:56 +0000 Navy_Mommy 39059@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't have a problem with the ads.</p> <p>Yes, they're a form of scare tactic, but that's just what works. If it just makes one person think twice (or do further research) before putting their baby in their bed with them and it saves that ONE baby, I think it was worth it.</p> <p>Also, the organization who produced the ad is offering assistance to low income families who can't afford cribs/bassinets. If they're willing to give that kind of assistance, I'm sure they're also trying to educate people. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/co-sleeping-is-unsafe-ads-in-milwaukee#post-39055 Wed, 21 Dec 2011 11:39:54 +0000 Maysprout 39055@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@ecogirl: Yes parents on any kind of drugs including medications should not be co-bedding. But I think the key is more in correct education and not just general info. Co-bedding has been going on since there were babies so I doubt it's going to magically stop because of an ad campaign. A better target would be safety and when not to co-bed or the alternative of co-sleep with baby within arms reach. The majority of people we know have co-slept with their baby at some point, whether a few days or a few months or a few years but since they're almost all Drs of some degree it doesn't seem as worrisome because they're educated about the risks and know how to sleep safely. I think bringing that education on safety is more important than some generalized fear campaign. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/co-sleeping-is-unsafe-ads-in-milwaukee#post-39043 Wed, 21 Dec 2011 11:24:18 +0000 ecogirl 39043@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Maysprout I did indeed take a look at statistics. I quickly saw that in a 7 year period out of 515 infant co-sleeping deaths 121 were attributed to the parent or caregiver rolling over and suffocating the baby. That is far too high of a percentage of risk due to something you cannot control in your sleep for my comfort level. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/co-sleeping-is-unsafe-ads-in-milwaukee#post-39039 Wed, 21 Dec 2011 11:21:11 +0000 carrieknitscake 39039@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Here's some of the articles related to the Milwaukee co-sleeping deaths</p> <p><a href="http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/autopsies-confirm-cosleeping-deaths-vb36t15-134503263.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/autopsies-confirm-cosleeping-deaths-vb36t15-134503263.html</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/95513064.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/95513064.html</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/95281234.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/95281234.html</a></p> <p>As you can see in the past two years, co-sleeping deaths in Milwaukee have been extremely high. I do think that they need to educate, not necessarily frighten those into finding better sleeping arrangements. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/co-sleeping-is-unsafe-ads-in-milwaukee#post-39029 Wed, 21 Dec 2011 11:16:14 +0000 Maysprout 39029@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@ecogirl: you might want to read some of the studies on it. The deaths are attributable to unsafe bedding, sleeping on something like a couch, or the parents being drugged in some sort of way. If you were to apply the same sort of logic to crib deaths then you'd have to say babies shouldn't sleep in cribs since more babies die of SIDS even with the back to sleep campaign. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/co-sleeping-is-unsafe-ads-in-milwaukee#post-39022 Wed, 21 Dec 2011 11:11:13 +0000 ecogirl 39022@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Maysprout Even without drugs or alcohol many a loving parent has suffocated their child accidentally while sleeping in the same bed as them. It is easy to say you wake up instantly if your baby moves or that you would never move while sleeping but for an exhausted new parent you cannot guarantee either of those. They are really out of your control. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/co-sleeping-is-unsafe-ads-in-milwaukee#post-39014 Wed, 21 Dec 2011 11:07:06 +0000 Maysprout 39014@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think this is ad campaign is way to general. There's lots of crib deaths, there's a whole disease named after crib death (SIDS). But they don't say don't put your baby in a crib, they say let baby sleep on their back and try a pacifier and this and that to make it safer. The same should be done with co-sleeping. If you're drunk, don't do it. If you're on drugs don't do it. Etc. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/co-sleeping-is-unsafe-ads-in-milwaukee#post-39013 Wed, 21 Dec 2011 11:07:05 +0000 carrieknitscake 39013@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@artbee: Thanks for the information. I'm surprised that hospitals, even public ones wouldn't have some sort of aid program for those classes in order to help the mother and child in the long run. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/co-sleeping-is-unsafe-ads-in-milwaukee#post-39009 Wed, 21 Dec 2011 11:03:28 +0000 heffalump 39009@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@carrieknitscake: childbirth and newborn classes are expensive, people probably can't afford it. At my hospital they were $30-$40 per class. I took 4 classes, that adds up! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/co-sleeping-is-unsafe-ads-in-milwaukee#post-39005 Wed, 21 Dec 2011 11:00:57 +0000 heffalump 39005@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrstilly: that's sweet! I'm pretty sure the stupid lady at my garage sale would not have been so cautious. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/co-sleeping-is-unsafe-ads-in-milwaukee#post-38983 Wed, 21 Dec 2011 10:49:22 +0000 mrsjazz 38983@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Lots of people are using co-sleeping to only mean bed sharing. Bed sharing falls under the category of co-sleeping but co-sleeping simply means that the baby shares a room with his/her parents. Co-sleeping could be baby sleeping in a bassinet next to the bed, too.</p> <p>I do think that bed sharing is unsafe. Sure, plenty of people do it/have done it and their babies have been fine, but it's still unsafe. I think the ads are a scare tactic, just like the cigarette ads with a smoker's lungs on it. I don't know how I feel about the ads, on one hand I think it's a bit much, but on the other hand when I read the article and the statistics about bed sharing, I can understand the ad. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/co-sleeping-is-unsafe-ads-in-milwaukee#post-38980 Wed, 21 Dec 2011 10:46:41 +0000 carrieknitscake 38980@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm from Milwaukee, but live in Chicago. In Milwaukee, there have been some high profile cases of where co-sleeping resulted in death in low income families. I remember one where the mother was drunk, fell asleep with the infant nearby, and accidentally suffocated the baby in the process. There was another one right after this one as well. </p> <p>If the ad campaign strikes enough fear in those who might be endangering their children, I have no problem with it. There definitely needs to be more education on it in low income families. It's one of those things I wondered when watching "Teen Mom." Did they take the childbirth classes that most hospitals want first time parents to take? I wonder the same about low income families as well. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/co-sleeping-is-unsafe-ads-in-milwaukee#post-38979 Wed, 21 Dec 2011 10:45:49 +0000 mrstilly 38979@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@artbee: The week I went back to maternity leave, my stepmom was watching DS and he fell asleep on the changing table. He had been fighting sleep all day, so she buckled the strap and sat right there with a hand on him for an hour while he slept. </p> <p>I do have to say that when I did sleep with DS, I never moved at all. I laid on my side and curled around him, with my other arm under his head and wrapped around him. I woke every time he stirred. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/co-sleeping-is-unsafe-ads-in-milwaukee#post-38964 Wed, 21 Dec 2011 10:38:43 +0000 heffalump 38964@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I do agree that people need to be better educated on safety.</p> <p>I was selling a changing table at a garage sale and a lady asked me if her baby could sleep in it. I said no, it's a changing table. So she said " not even for just a little bit? " No! She's Lu:that I refused to sell it to her, her poor baby! That experience really freaked me out. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/co-sleeping-is-unsafe-ads-in-milwaukee#post-38961 Wed, 21 Dec 2011 10:36:36 +0000 ecogirl 38961@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would never practice co sleeping as I feel it is unsafe. There is too much opportunity for something to go wrong even with precautions being taken. I also feel it is not necessary and can create a very unhealthy habit for child and parent. I like the ads. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/co-sleeping-is-unsafe-ads-in-milwaukee#post-38949 Wed, 21 Dec 2011 10:20:37 +0000 mrstilly 38949@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think posts and articles about these ads have been flying around for over a month but I just stumbled across them today via a link to this article. (I did a search and didn't find a post on this on the boards - let me know if I missed it.)<br /> <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/milwaukee-runs-provocative-ads-wake-parents-dangers-co-213117311.html" rel="nofollow">http://news.yahoo.com/milwaukee-runs-provocative-ads-wake-parents-dangers-co-213117311.html</a><br /> An ad campaign has been launched in Milkwaukee, which has the highest infant mortality rate, that shows an infant in a bed next to a knife and says "your baby sleeping next to you can be just as dangerous". </p> <p>I only sporadically co slept with DS in his first 2 months. DH is a very heavy sleeper and I never quite got the hang of nursing while sleeping so I ended up getting up with DS to feed him anyway. I know many moms who do co-sleep though. </p> <p>At first these ads make me mad. I don't like scare tactics, and co-sleeping can be very safe, when parents have the relevant information to do it safely. But... there is obviously a huge issue in this area (and others) with children dying while sleeping in an adult bed. </p> <p>The main problem is that a majority of the deaths are within low income families. As a social worker I see families who don't have access, or the knowledge on how to access, up to date information about child safety. It changes quickly and often time doctors and other professionals working with babies don't know what is up to date. How can you expect families to know what professionals don't? </p> <p>I don't think this ad campaign is appropriate unless there is concurrent follow up, in the form of training and information packets, done with all professionals who work with young kids. (Day care providers, doctors, social services case workers, hospital staff, etc...) There needs to be a way to disperse accurate information to all of the professionals before you can expect parents to be aware of it, especially low income parents who might not have access to the information or might not know to ask more questions. </p> <p>What do you think? </p>