Dawn Barclay, from Forfar, lost her eight-week-old daughter Fern in 2014 after falling asleep with her on a sofa. She woke to find Fern had stopped breathing. A coroner later found that Fern had suffered brain damage from birth, but the death certificate was changed to 'sudden unexpected death in infancy associated with co-sleeping'. Dawn believes this ruling is unfair.
The Victoria Derbyshire programme has found that many parents who co-sleep are not telling health visitors about it, fearing judgment. Experts worry that this prevents guidance on minimising risks from being passed on.
Official advice states that co-sleeping increases the risk of infant death. The Department of Health recommends that babies sleep in a cot in the same room as parents for the first six months. NICE updated its guidelines in 2014, noting that Sids is rare but more common when co-sleeping.
Shona Haigh, a first-time mother, co-sleeps with her four-month-old daughter Ava. She says she has received no advice on safe co-sleeping and believes it is natural for babies to want to be close to their mothers.
