<TCM editor's note: This is proof positive that government organizations such as CPSC are beholden to economic interests, or are they just plain stupid?>

Family Bed Under Attack

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA) is launching a mass-media national campaign aimed at "reducing deaths associated with placing babies in adult beds." The campaign will include a video news release that will be fed to stations nationwide along with pamphlets and posters distributed through retailers, hospitals, health departments and various grass roots organizations.

Numerous studies and research have proven the family bed to be a safe and beneficial sleeping arrangement. Don't let these organizations frighten
other parents with misleading data.

READ PEGGY O'MEARA'S (MOTHERING MAGAZINE) ANGRY REPLY

READ THE MAY 14, 2002, ABC NEWS REPORT

READ THE CPSC WEB PAGE ABOUT THIS ISSUE

READ THIS DISTURBING REPORT FROM PARENT'S PLACE

UNDERLYING AGENDA?

GREAT SITE TO CONTACT YOUR CONGRESSMEN BY ZIP CODE
Let them know how you feel. Snail mail is best.

Make your voice heard! Write a letter, make a phone call or send an email or fax to the CDSC and the JPMA:

Consumer Product Safety Commission
(800) 638-2772
CPSC, Washington, DC 20207
www.cpsc.gov

email CPSC

Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association
17000 Commerce Pkwy.
Suite C
Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054
Tel: 856-638-0420
Fax: 856-439-0525
www.jpma.org

EMAIL: JPMA
******************
I am including the letter I sent, I will also be writing one to JPMA.
~Tonya Wright
******************
Consumer Product Safety Commission
(800) 638-2772
CPSC, Washington, DC 20207
www.cpsc.gov


Mrs. Fleming,

I am writing to warn you that babies die in cribs 41.666 times MORE often
than they do sleeping with an adult.  So, your press release really should
have said "Children die in cribs almost twice as often as those sleeping
with their parents".  I have two children ges 6 mos. & 3 years.  I sleep
with both of my children on a nightly basis.  I nurse my 6 mos. old on
demand, as I did with her older sister.  Her sleeping with me is the best
arrangement possible so we both have a restful night's sleep.  I have a
number of friends who do the same.  I do not sleep with blankets, only use
one small pillow under my head to prevent any possible suffocation & she
usually sleeps between me & the wall.  I also sleep with them only, my
husband sleeps in a different bed to make sure he does not roll over onto
the baby.  However, I do know parents who both sleep with their children without any problems. 

The Family Bed Can Babies Sleep With Parents?
abcnews.com
Over the past three years, at least 180 babies died after getting trapped or suffocated while sleeping in the same beds as their parents, the CPSC says in a public awareness campaign launched earlier this month. The commission warns parents to place children under age 2 in a crib when they are sleeping.
Yet at least a few leading pediatricians, including Dr. Bob Sears, disagree.

While not discounting the CPSC statistics, Sears insists that it is far
safer for babies to sleep with their parents than not to, and points out
that the incidence of crib-related Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is far
higher than the infant deaths related to sleeping with parents. SIDS results
in 2,500 deaths per year.

Parents should do whatever they can to prevent those 60 adult bed-related deaths a year, but one way is to simply learn how to sleep with their babies the safe way, Sears said.

"Those deaths occur only if proper precautions aren't followed," Sears told
Good Morning America. "If you follow them, then the child's chances of dying are far lower than from SIDS."

Babies Get Trapped in Bedding, Frames

There are no statistics comparing the number of SIDS deaths that occurred in bed vs. the number that occurred in the crib. Until those statistics are
known, the CPSC should not tell parents not to sleep with their babies,
Sears said.

The incidents of infants dying while "co-sleeping" with adults, as
documented by the CPSC, include the following: children getting trapped
between the bed and the wall, or the bed and another object; entrapment that involves footboards or bed frames; soft bedding-related hazards, such as suffocation on a pillow; falls, sometimes into a pile of clothing or plastic, resulting in suffocation; a child or adult accidentally lying on top of the baby.

Co-sponsoring the CPSC campaign is the Juvenile Products Manufacturer
Association, a trade organization representing 95 percent of the baby
product industry, which includes manufacturers of cribs and bedding.

The CPSC recommends babies under 24 months sleep in cribs. Babies should be placed on their backs in a crib that meets current safety standards, and has a firm, tight-fitting mattress. If you use a portable crib or playpen, make sure it meets current safety standards, the CPSC recommends. Use only the mattress or pad provided by the manufacturer.

The commission also advises that babies should sleep on their backs, not
their stomachs, because babies who lie on their stomachs are more likely to
succumb to SIDS.

Sleeping Safely With Babies

Some estimates say that as many as 50 percent to 60 percent of parents sleep with their infant children. In today's busy society, where both parents often work, it is a way to spend extra bonding time with the baby, who may be nearly ready for bed by the time they get home. If they sleep with the parents, it provides extra snuggle time and a good way to reconnect with the baby, Sears said.

He and his wife, Cheryl Sears, have three boys - Andrew, 9, Alex, 6, and
Joshua, 2 months. Joshua, the newborn, sleeps with his parents every night, just as his brothers did. The Sears begin weaning their children away from the bed between the ages of 2 and 4.

Cheryl Sears, said that with Joshua, she barely lost any sleep, and is
barely aware of nursing him in the bed beside her. Besides removing the
sleep deprivation from the parenting experience, the experience is also more pleasant for the babies, who do not have to cry alone in a room to get parents' attention, she said.

Here are Dr. Sears' tips on how babies can safely sleep with their parents.

   Bed Against Wall: Some accidental deaths occur because the infant fell
through a crack between the bed and the wall. To prevent this, push bed
firmly against the wall, and fill cracks or empty spaces with a rolled up
blanket.

   Push Furniture Away From Bed: Some infants roll out of bed, and get stuck between the night table and bed, so make sure any furniture is pushed far away from the bed.

  Safe Bed Railing: Infants have died getting stuck between bed railings, so
make sure that you are using a CPSC-approved bed rail that is completely
safe.

   Check Mattress Size: Babies can fall and get stuck between the bed and
the frame, so make sure the mattress is the right size for the bed frame. Do not use a waterbed or feather mattress.

   Avoid Rolling Onto Baby: Parents can roll over onto babies in the night,
so you should avoid drinking or taking drugs, or even some over-the-counter medications, like antihistamines, that can make you lose your sense of awareness. Mothers have an inborn sense of where babies are, so unless they are under the influence, that instinct is going to keep them from rolling onto the baby, Sears said.

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