6 Infant Deaths Lead Larimer & Weld County Health Officials To Say ‘No’ To Co-Sleeping

I just read an article in the Coloradoan saying that a string of infant suffocations has led Northern Colorado health officials to warn parents not to sleep in the same bed with their babies. (Co-sleeping as many call it.) However, many parents think that co-sleeping is an integral part of creating a strong bond with their kids.

I can see health officials wanting kids to be safe, and I can see parents who believe in co-sleeping being upset that health officials are saying they are being "unsafe parents." The debate is on.

Apparently four infants suffocated in Weld County in 2012, and three in Larimer County. The Coloradoan reports that 6 of those deaths were caused by an adult sleeping in the same bed as the baby. (Can you imagine how terrible that would be?! Simply unfathomable…)

So, many health professionals answer the problem with this:

Just don’t sleep with the infant in your bed.

However, proponents of co-cleeping say,

[It] helps strengthen parental bonds, leads to more emotionally and physically healthy children, and is perfectly safe, based on their experience and that of millions of moms around the world.

Those are two arguments that can both make valid points. And those points are debated, over and over again all across the Internet. (Kids’ Health, Parenting, What To Expect, Ask Dr. Sears, Etc…)

If there is one thing I have learned in my 11-months of being a parent, it’s that no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, and now matter how much research and advice you absorb. Someone will think something you do as a parent is “wrong.”

Obviously, by the vast number of online arguments I discovered on the co-sleeping subject in the past 10 minutes, there is no clear-cut answer the question, should you co-sleep or not. (Although, both sides claim there is a simple answer...go figure).

From most of what I've read, most medical doctors would say it's a no-no, but not all of them.

That being said, what’s your take on co-sleeping? Do, or do not?

[Coloradoan]