[femto]

Have you looked into whether it is dangerous to have a newborn infant sleeping on this matress?

A cot/bed with a poor fitting mattress can cause death by the infant rolling into a gap/crevice and suffocating. (Infants don't have the strength to lift their head or crawl out.) For various reasons, it is also relatively common for parents to sleep with the baby in their bed (despite the risk of crushing). This mattress has crevices all over it, so would seem to present a severe risk of suffocation to infants.

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edit: crevasse -> crevice

[aidenn0]

You should never have a newborn sleeping directly on a mattress next to you. Ever. Regardless of the mattress.

[joshkaufman]

Research does not support this view. See http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15911459, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18046747, and http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8506461, among others.

From one of these papers:

"At very least, we hope that the studies and data described in this paper, which show that co-sleeping at least in the form of roomsharing especially with an actively breast feeding mother saves lives, is a powerful reason why the simplistic, scientifically inaccurate and misleading statement 'never sleep with your baby' needs to be rescinded, wherever and whenever it is published."

Co-sleeping while breastfeeding actually reduces incidents of SIDS, and benefits both the infant and mother by allowing both to get more sleep. The biggest risk factor is if an adult co-sleeps while intoxicated, which is entirely preventable.

[aidenn0]

I have no problem with room-sharing, or even an in-bed cradle. Those have obvious benefits without some of the risks of placing a baby on a mattress next to you.

[eru]

Thanks!

[femto]

Agree. But it needs to be taken into account, as a significant number of people do it, despite all the reasons not to.