Co-Sleeping Syndrome Essay

          In the Western world, SIDS is the most common cause of death for infants between two weeks and one year of age, but SIDS also occurs throughout the world. SIDS most commonly happens during sleep, although it can occur anywhere, such as in baby carriages, safety car seats, or

For as long as we can remember we are always told to never sleep with your baby that you could suffocate them by rolling over on them or what not. In a study by Davies, he found that prior to the 1700's co-sleeping was a normal thing around the world. It was not until the 1800's when the western society moved away from co-sleeping to an independent sleeping arrangement claiming the child will be too attached and have security problems; you will never get the child to sleep in their own bed; the child will not learn independence; or, the child could suffocate in various ways. Well, I agree

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is a condition that many people still are trying to figure out why it happens to these babies. This syndrome is described as an unexplained death of an infant younger than one year of age. SIDS is frightening because it can strike without warning and affect a good, healthy infant. Most SIDS deaths occur at night and without warning. SIDS victims may have been down for sleep for as little as ten minutes, they show signs of struggle or suffering. Although SIDS is commonly associated with an infants sleep time, and often occurs in the crib. This event is not limited to the crib and may occur anywhere the infant is sleeping, deaths have occurred in

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome remains the leading cause of post-neonatal mortality (under the age of one) in developed countries. The causes of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome have been puzzling and research is being conducted to solve this catastrophic problem. Having a child under the age of one makes me very concerned, along with any other parent(s), that the possibility of SIDS could affect any infant at anytime, SIDS does not discriminate. I am seeking to find the possible causes to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome so in the future deaths could be avoided.

Infant co-sleeping is a highly controversial topic of debate in our society. There are many valid reasons as to why infant co-sleeping is an appropriate practice based upon many different things, some to include research, culture and personal opinion. And there are just as many reasons to recede that claim and support that co-sleeping is detrimental to the health and well-being of an infant. Before the following research, as outlined in this paper, my personal opinion was based on the fact that I practiced co-sleeping with my son many years ago, back when co-sleeping was not such an issue. I felt comfortable with co-sleeping and supported co-sleeping. The reasoning behind this could have been the age factor as a teen mother, my cultural beliefs and also the comfort of knowing my child was close and I could access him easily if needed. As I learned more about co-sleeping and began my work in the field of ECE, I was encouraged to support the “Back to Sleep” movement and to share the cons of co-sleeping with the families I worked with based upon the beliefs of my employer. The following articles will highlight the many pros and cons of infant co-sleeping

     When putting it all together the number of lives births each year, SIDS remains the leading cause of death in the United States among infants between one month and one year of age and second only to congenital anomalies as the leading overall cause of death for all infants less than one year of age.

One of the major points discussed is in sleeping in Houston is the deaths during bed sharing, the police say this is caused by suffocation during bed sharing and parents rolling onto their baby due to fatigue. This is countered in “Co-Sleeping research” By listing points that benefits, the argument for “Co-Sleeping” Such as babies are able to breastfeed during Co-sleeping another point is that the parent and the baby are highly responsive to each other movements also that babies rarely cry during the Co-Sleeping. During the time that I allowed my kids to sleep with, me the cried a lot, Furthermore, my children also breastfeed a lot. They would also wake me up so that they can play around. The children would wake me up to play with them, they

Infants whose mothers smoked during their pregnancy are more likely to become victims of SIDS, something as simple as quitting smoking can potentially save your child’s life. Also, it is more prevalent in families where cigarette smoke is found in the home regularly (Caldwell, 1995). SIDS deaths do recur in families; the rate among siblings of babies who die of SIDS is four to seven times higher than that for those who Sudden Infant Death Syndrome 3 have never had an incidence (Valdes-Dapena,

An article in Science Daily tells that a neurologists studies led by investigators say that children who die by SIDS have differences in their brainstem chemistry (Boston Children's Hospital). Activities like breathing, heart rate change, blood pressure, and temperature are impacted by abnormalities in the brain (Boston Children's Hospital). Besides the physical factors there are also three sleep environmental factors that impact SIDS: sleep on the stomach or side, sleep on a soft surface, and sleeping with parents (Mayo Clinic Staff). Sleeping on the stomach or side causes infant to have problems breathing, and airway can become blocked if infant is put down to sleep on a soft surface. As I have also read in my Lesson Book and online, when infants are put to sleep on their bellies and/or sides it causes them to have trouble breathing. This eventually leads to the sudden death of an infant in his or her crib (ILC).

In the triple-risk model it suggests that three different factors or events can lead to SIDS: The first element of the model is the critical development period, where the baby is growing and developing rapidly. A rapid growth can make a baby’s system unstable. This defect possibly will be located in the brainstem, which is to blame for heart rate, respiratory controls and overall body regulatory mechanisms (Firstcandle, 2010). “The second element, the vulnerable infant, represents an infant with this underlying abnormality in an area of their brain stem that controls respiration, heart rate, temperature, arousal from sleep and other major bodily functions during early life (Firstcandle, 2010)”. The third and last element involves outside or environmental challenges, which a normal baby can easily overcome, but a baby already vulnerable might not. “Challenges such as tobacco exposure, tummy sleeping, soft bedding, bed sharing or an upper respiratory infection alone do not cause death for healthy infants, but could trigger a sudden, unexpected death in a vulnerable infant (Firstcandle, 2010).” “According to the triple-risk model, an infant will die of SIDS only if he or she possesses all three factors described above (Firstcandle, 2010)”.

Infants born from mothers that smoked are three times more likely to die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), a condition in which babies who appears healthy die suddenly while sleeping, as are babies whose mothers do not smoke during pregnancy. This is also a point of contention between researchers as well. "Children born to mothers who smoked while pregnant, and possibly children whose grandmothers smoked while pregnant, have a higher risk of developing childhood asthma (Child)." Women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to be born with birth defects such as cleft lip or palate and to have low birth weight.

The blood samples taken from infants who died as a result of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) contained a high concentration of serotonin. Serotonin is a chemical that transmits signals between and along the nerves (ScienceDaily, par. 2). The article reported that the finding of this research provided the probability a test could be conducted to differentiate cases of SIDS from other sleep-related causes that lead to unpredicted infant death.

When addressing sleep positioning, one also needs to consider the factors that influence parental decisions and preferences regarding sleep positioning for their infant. In 2017, the Pediatric Nursing Journal included an article titled ‘Factors Associated with Parental Compliance with Supine Infant Sleep’ (Zundo, Richards, Ahmed, & Codington, 2017).  The article includes a compilation of studies that address the research on different factors and

When it comes to parents sharing a room or bed with their newborn baby, there are many factors that came into consideration, many considers to raise an eyebrow and to think before concerning the ultimate decision for your newborn. The American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) states that babies shouldn’t sleep in the same bed as their parents. But should sleep close by their parents but doesn’t encourage bed sharing with an infant. The reason that AAP doesn’t encourage bed sharing with infants would be that a parent could inadvertently trap a baby in bed covers or in the space between the bed and the wall. Some studies suggest that co-sleeping could put an infant at a higher risk for SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome),

The first risk I shall address is co-sleeping. This risk is associated with children from infancy to toddler age. Co-sleeping is another term for bed sharing; where the infant/toddler sleeps in the same bed as the parents. Co-sleeping has some benefits to the child (and mother) because the close approximation to the sleeping adult provides “infant well-being, ease and likelihood of breast-feeding, enhanced maternal-infant bonding, and constant infant supervision” (Connell-Carrick, 2006, pg 826). However co-sleeping can also be detrimental to the child because it “places children at risk emotionally and physically”