Contradictions Arise in Safe Sleeping Practices for Infants

8.23.12” by Caitlin Regan licensed under CC BY 2.0

Source: NPR

According to a new study centering on sleep for children, infants older than 4 months sleep less frequently if they share a room with their parents.

The research published in Pediatrics also found that parents are more likely to share their bed or engage in other dangerous sleeping practices that can cause Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

These new findings contradict previous guidelines set by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which recommends that infants should share a room with their parents during the first 6 months to 1 year of their lives.

Ian Paul, the lead author of the study, is a skeptic of the previous data collected by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the organization’s “strong desire to prevent every single case of SIDS.”

“It’s important for the Academy to have strong evidence and not just expert opinion to support our recommendations because these guidelines have such influence on practice and on parenting and child health,” he explained.

Read full story at: NPR

Children & Families, Health, News
Children & Families, Health, News