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.)
http://news.yahoo.com/milwaukee-runs-provocative-ads-wake-parents-dangers-co-213117311.html
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".

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.

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.

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?

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.

What do you think?