Co-Sleeping Campaign sheds light on controversial subject

Whether you call it co-sleeping, bed-sharing or simply having a "family bed," allowing an infant to sleep in the same bed as his or her parents is a controversial subject. More controversial, however, is the way one city chose to advocate against the practice.

In November 2011, the Milwaukee Department of Health launched an advertising campaign to illustrate the risk parents take in sharing a bed with their infants. The two public service announcements showed babies sleeping in an adult bed, a large butcher knife lying nearby. The words "your baby sleeping with you can be just as dangerous" were printed above the image.

When they were released, the ads got a lot of attention from media outlets across the country.

"Is it shocking? Is it provocative? Yes." Commissioner of Health Bevan Baker told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in 2011. "But what is even more shocking and provocative is that 30 developed and underdeveloped countries have better (infant death) rates than Milwaukee."

Data released last month shows Milwaukee has one of the highest mortality rates in the country: 10.6 percent of babies die before their first birthday, according to the city's 2013 Fetal Infant Mortality Review Report.

Nearly 60 percent of those deaths is attributed to premature birth; nearly 20 percent is related to congenital defects; and nearly 15 percent of deaths were sleep related, the report said.

For over a decade, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has warned parents of the dangers of co-sleeping, and the American Academy of Pediatrics advocates the safest place for a baby to sleep is in a crib in the same room as the parent.

But do shocking ads like those in Milwaukee do much to curb the disturbing trend? Unfortunately, the jury is still out on that decision. The most recent numbers available for infant mortality in Milwaukee account for deaths through the year 2011.

However, one indication might be the city's decision to change the ad campaign just nine months after it launched. The new public service announcements show an infant alone in a crib, with the words: "Babies should always sleep in a crib."%3Cimg%20src%3D%22http%3A//beacon.deseretconnect.com/beacon.gif%3Fcid%3D156277%26pid%3D46%22%20/%3E</group>