I do not know if you remember that in 2012, the Breastfeeding Committee of the Spanish Association of Pediatrics (CLMAEP) reviewed different published studies on the relationship between Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and other factors (including breastfeeding and the colecho). We echoed this information, which pointed to the need for parents of babies to update information on risk factors that predispose to sudden death.
It was also specified that in the event that some of these factors converge (tobacco consumption in parents, excessive clotting, colecho with people other than parents), and particularly in infants under three months, the recommendation is to cohabit (share the room), before collecting. And let the baby share the room, it is also understood as placing the crib attached to the large bed of dad and mom, in fact today, there are some great 'sidecar cots', designed to facilitate them to attach well, and incorporate a joining surface between both beds.
As I say, in the aforementioned review, the lack of scientific evidence was concluded by not advising a practice as widespread in the world as controversial in most Western countries. That is to say that in the absence of risk factors, there was no problem with breastfed babies sharing a bed with mom and dad. Now this topic has been reviewed again, and below I will indicate the modifications introduced. It is known that breastfeeding has a protective effect against SIDS, it seems that there are several studies showing how the rates are lower compared to those of non-breastfed babies. On the other hand, the mothers we have collected and breastfed, or those who do it now, do not stop to think about studies, you simply realize that it is very rewarding, and that they feel safer and you too.
We are also able to control risk factors, because as soon as you monitor the environment, it is easy to detect that comforters or many blankets, or too many cushions, can be a source of problems, and the truth is that they are not necessary having so many people In a bed
The risk of Sudden Infant Syndrome
The SMSL is when a child under the age of one apparently dies during sleep and without explanation, the social and medical problem is so serious that It is considered as the leading cause of postneonatal death in industrialized countries. It is therefore everyone's obligation to try to avoid death in infants for this cause.
The AEP Sudden Infant Death Working Group considers the following risk factors associated with the Syndrome:
Prone position (or central recumbency) to sleep, a person adopts this position when he is face down and with his head to the side.
Colecho as a risk: Increases in children under three months, or when there is exposure to tobacco smoke. Also if you sleep on soft surfaces or a sofa; or when there are objects such as bedspreads, blankets, pillows, loose crib protectors. They do not forget the risk of the baby sharing a bed with someone who has consumed alcohol.
And on the other hand, sharing a room (no bed) with parents is considered a protective factor, in this case, the option of collecting from six months could be considered.
So complex (in appearance) is the union of colecho, breastfeeding, and its possible relationship (risk / protection) with the SIDS, that there seems to be no agreement between different committees of breastfeeding experts from other countries. Of course, there is a UNICEF document (2013) that affirms the non-existence of evidence of increased risk of SIDS, whenever we talk about a non-smoking home, with a sober mother, who breastfeeds and sleeps in her bed with a healthy baby , placed supine (and not over-bridged).
In the consensus document carried out by the Breastfeeding Committee and the Sudden Death Working Group (both of the AEP), a study with many limitations and bias is mentioned, whose principal author is Carpenter. This is a meta-analysis that includes the results of five case-control studies, whose main result is an SIDS rate of 0.23 per 1000 live births in babies sharing the bed, compared with 0.08 per 100 live births. , in breastfed infants, lying on their backs, and without associated risk factors.
AEP: New review on the issue of colecho
'The MS / AEP Working Group coinciding with the American Academy of Pediatrics2, the International Society for the Study and Prevention of Sudden Infant and Perinatal Death (ISPID) and the MSI Prevention Associations of multiple countries worldwide, in order to reduce the risk of sudden infant death related to sleep, what they call “a safe dream; advises that during the first 6 months of life the infant sleeps in his own crib, next to the bed of the parents sharing the room but not the bed, in supine position, with the head and face uncovered, free of tobacco smoke, not excessively hot nor too cold and fed with breastfeeding '.
The paragraph above has been copied in full so that the main recommendation is clearly appreciated, which is accompanied by others that we will now see; They also mention the scientific evidence that this practice decreases the risk of SIDS by more than 50 percent.
Thus, it is clear the advice that children under six months sleep in their crib; but also It is still thought that breastfeeding has a protective effect against SIDS. And although colecho is a beneficial practice for its maintenance (breastfeeding), it is considered a factor that increases the risk of sudden death, so it should not be recommended in:
Infants under 3 months.
Prematurity and low birth weight.
Parents who use tobacco, alcohol, drugs or sedative drugs.
Sickness situations (especially extreme fatigue), such as immediate postpartum.
Soft surface patch, water mattresses, sofa or armchairs.
Share the bed with other family members, with other children or with multiple people.
That is to say (at the risk of reiterating), cohabitation is advised during the first six months of life before the school; and in any case the latter should not be recommended in infants less than three months old, and in situations that precede this clarification that I wanted to make in order to specify. And of course after those 6 months, parents who wish to do so can go to school with their children until the family decides.
I hope you find this information useful and that it serves to complete or modify the one that we offer in your day, because I consider that decisions are better to make them knowing a little more about each specific topic. Remember that - as already mentioned above - placing a crib next to the bed (type sidecar or normal), also facilitates breastfeeding (and in this sense meets the same goal as the colecho).
Images | Oleg Sidorenko, Sonya Green More information | AEPED In Peques and More | Colecho is not related to sudden infant death (and also benefits breastfeeding)
