NBC News reports the dangers of parents sharing their bed with infants.
The report indicates that since 2005 in on California county alone, 41 babies have died from unsafe sleeping practices. About half of those deaths were linked to bed sharing, and only a fraction of those cases involved parents who'd been using alcohol or drugs.
Dr. Louis Garling, Jr., a Santa Clara County Deputy Health Officer, tells NBC News, "The baby is sleeping with an adult, usually a parent or older child, and during the night the adult or older child accidentally rolls onto the baby during their sleep."
County Assistant Medical Examiner Dr. Michelle Jorden uses dolls to teach parents about the dangers of allowing their infants into their beds. She tells NBC News, "I've had cases where infants have accidentally suffocated in soft bedding, whether that's on an adult size bed or whether its in a crib because the crib was just loaded with soft blankets and the baby becomes entrapped face down."
Dr. Girling reminds parents there is only one safe place for infants. "We want families to put their babies to sleep safely. And the safest way to do that is for the baby to sleep alone, so no bed sharing, on the back meaning baby is lying on his or her back face up, and in a crib or bassinet with a firm mattress and no soft objects in the environment."
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