Co-Sleeping Safety Guidelines: Another Baby's Death Highlights Dangers Of Bed-Sharing; What Experts Recommend Parents Must Do

Another baby has died as a result of co-sleeping. The 5-month-old baby from Alabama had been on an adult bed with her older sibling when the incident happened.

Experts have already reiterated on the most appropriate co-sleeping safety guidelines for parents and baby caregivers. This latest incident stresses on the dangers of sharing a bed with the baby.

Child advocate Freda Centor said that co-sleeping is the number one cause of death among infants. Despite raising awareness about co-sleeping's dangers, it is still happening in many families when the situation is preventable.

"There are so many ways the baby is in danger," Freda Centor said, according to WBRC. She cited that an adult or another child could roll over the baby in bed or the baby could fall off the bed or be overheated because of the crowded set up. She noted that babies are required to have their own space when sleeping, which goes with the same recommendations as the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

The AAP recently released its expanded guidelines for co-sleeping safety. It underscores that babies shouldn't share a bed in their first six to 12 months as this is a critical stage for SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome).

Retweeted Amer Acad Pediatrics (@AmerAcadPeds):

AAP releases updated safe sleep recommendations to protect... https://t.co/CCj9zdyNGT

— Academic Peds Assoc (@AcademicPeds) October 28, 2016

The guidelines, however, do allow for having the babies sleep in their parents' room in their first year, provided that they are in a crib or bassinet. This way, the baby is still within the parents' view or reach, but not likely to become suffocated, strangled, crushed or trapped while co-sleeping.

The APP also recommends for breastfeeding moms to ensure that if they are nursing the baby in bed, obstructions like pillows, sheets and blankets must be removed first. Some moms tend to fall asleep as they are breastfeeding and eliminating these bedding items minimizes the risk of infant death.

The mom must immediately put the baby back in the crib if she wakes up from feeding. If not, the other parent must be put to task to bringing the baby back to his own sleep space. Learn more about the AAP's new Safe Sleep Guidelines for infants in the video below.