Co-sleeping 'less harmful than thought'

A new study has cast doubt on the view that sharing a bed with a baby increases the chances of cot death.

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Many mothers and fathers find that allowing their baby to sleep with them in their bed is the only thing that seems to comfort them when they are crying at night. But parents have been put off this technique of putting a baby to sleep due to an apparent link with cot death. However, the new British study, which is to be presented to a conference of the charity Unicef in Glasgow this week, suggests that other factors bear a stronger link to cot death and that once these factors are stripped away, the act of sharing a bed itself presents no increased risk to the baby.

The study found that sharing a bed with a baby is no more dangerous than putting them in a cot provided that the parents do not drink, smoke or take drugs, that the bedding is not heavy and does not contain adult pillows, that the mattress is not soft and that the parents are not "excessively tired".

Belinda Phipps, chief executive of the National Childbirth Trust, said: "We are really pleased to see that evidence about the safety of co-sleeping is building, because we know it improves breastfeeding rates.

"We also know a lot of parents prefer to do it but feel guilty because they are unsure about the risks."

Nevertheless, the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths advised that further research was needed and stood by their guidelines that the safest place for a baby under six months to sleep is a cot in the same room as their parents.