Baby death prompts child advocate to warn foster parents against bed-sharing

CTV Edmonton: Report igniting debate A new report is igniting debate, as to whether or not bringing an infant into the parent’s bed is safe.

The death of an Alberta infant while in foster care has prompted the province to look at new regulations concerning bed-sharing, a practice that's popular among many parents but often discouraged by health professionals.

An investigation by Alberta's Child and Youth Advocate into the death of a six-week-old baby girl recommends that the province establish a policy that prohibits foster parents from co-sleeping with infants in their care.

The infant, referred to as 'Baby Dawn' in the report, was found unresponsive in her foster parents' bed in 2013 and later died in hospital.

The report states that Dawn's foster mom placed her in a playpen next to her bed, but moved the baby into her bed sometime overnight.

Child and Youth Advocate Del Graff said Tuesday that a clear policy should be put in place prohibiting foster parents from bed-sharing with babies in their care.

"We’re not saying that to parents. We’re not saying that even to relatives or the kinship care. But we’re saying there needs to be a policy for fostering in this province," Child and Youth Advocate Del Graff told CTV Edmonton on Tuesday.

The report notes that there are conflicting theories about what is best for babies when it comes to sleep environments.

"Some argue that 'attachment parenting,' which includes bed-sharing, is best; while public health agencies and medical professionals recommend that babies should sleep in a crib," the report states. "But, at the end of the day when children are in the care of the Ministry of Human Services everything that can be done to make them safe needs to be done."

Alberta's Minister of Human Services Manmeet Bhullar said in a statement on Tuesday that each child in the province's care must have their own bed or crib.

"While we recognize co-sleeping can be an important cultural aspect, each child in care must have a separate bed or crib as a permanent sleeping arrangement," he said. "We do not recommend bed-sharing due to a number of associated risks including falls or suffocations."

The Public Health Agency of Canada warns against bed-sharing or co-sleeping as it could increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) or suffocation. Health professionals warn that adults can roll over the baby during the night, or the baby can suffocate in blankets or pillows on the bed.

The Canadian Paediatric Society recommends that for the first six months of a baby's life, the child should sleep in its own crib or bassinet in the parents room, and after six months the child could move into its own room.

There's no Canadian data on the prevalence of infants sleeping in adults' beds, but a recent survey conducted by the National Infant Sleep Position Study showed that bed-sharing doubled in the U.S. between 1993 and 2000 from 5.5 per cent to 12.8 per cent.

Proponents of co-sleeping and bed-sharing say the practice encourages breast-feeding, helps babies fall asleep more easily, leads to longer nighttime sleep for babies and strengthens the bond between parents and infants.