Can co-sleeping cause SIDS in newborn baby?

Question

Hello doctor,

My baby boy was born three weeks and one day earlier, with a weight of 5 lbs 9 oz. We live with my husband's mother, and she is helping us take care of our son. For the past couple of nights, she has been taking our son into her bedroom for him to sleep with her. She has two dogs that are miniature pinschers that can be very mean at times.

I could not sleep those past nights because of our son not being in our bedroom, and it stressed me a lot, and I cried a lot. This is my only child, but my husband's second. I do not want anything bad happening to him, like SIDS or anything like that, especially since he is so tiny.

As I read online, it said for babies not to sleep with anyone and to sleep in their beds due to them being at risk for SIDS. I am too afraid that our son will roll off the bed and hurt himself very badly, or one of her dogs will attack him.

I apologize if I sound like a crazy, overreacting mother, but it has got me so worried about being a mother for the first time. If I dare say anything to my mother-in-law about it, she will kick us out in the freezing cold and make sure that we have no place to live. What should I do?

Please help.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I understand your problem, but it is important to take up this problem as a family collectively involving your husband, mother-in-law, yourself, and, if possible, your mother too.

If I were in your place, I would tell the mother-in-law that I wish to stay close to my child, as I am unable to sleep without the child in sight out of anxiety, and that I want to feed him at night. You can say that since the child is small, the child would require breastfeeding every two hours, even at night, which is actually very important. That way, you can keep the baby with you when the baby is sleeping. And please, dogs around the child are strictly not allowed.

Regarding SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome), it can happen to any child. Getting anxious about it will do no good. Instead, read about how much you can do to prevent it, like keeping the child in the supine position while sleeping, burping the child for 20 minutes post-feeding, etc.

Also, keep the child in a separate cot whilst sleeping. I have had incidents in which the child was sleeping with the mother, and the mother's hand, by mistake, went on the baby's face, and the baby was unable to breathe.

I hope that you get your answer.

Please let me know if you need any help.

Thank you.