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A study soon to be published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics found that co-sleeping, or parents sharing a bed with their infants, has been on the rise since 1993, especially among black and Latino families. Though it’s nice to feel your baby close to you (and not have to stumble to another room for late night diaper changes), it’s a dangerous practice that increases the risk of SIDS.

Researchers at the Yale University School of Medicine, surveyed nearly 19,000 people in 48 states, 84 percent of whom were mothers of infants. Most respondents had at least a college education and had a median income of $50,000 annually. Bed sharing as a normal practice increased between 1993 and 2010 among all surveyed, growing from 6.5 percent to 13.5 percent. However, the increase was bigger for black families, with the increase in black families being more than twice as much for blacks. In 1993, 21.2 percent of black families reported sleeping with their baby but that percentage increased to 38.7. For Latino families, 12.5 reported co-sleeping in 1993 and 20.5 percent said they were co-sleepers in 2010. Researchers say they’re concerned with the racial discrepancy because black children already have the highest risk of SIDS and accidental suffocation.

The differences in sleeping patterns seem, in part, to be a financial issue. Co-sleeping was more prevalent in families who reported a yearly income of under $50,000. It was almost more common in the south and the west. The Yale University team hopes pediatricians will do more to discourage co-sleeping because of the SIDS risk.

The study has its critics, who say there’s no firmly established link between co-sleeping and SIDS. Baby expert Dr. William Sears says co-sleeping is actually really beneficial for baby because he’ll sleep more peacefully and be more emotionally stable as an older child and an adult. A recent study have also found that co-sleeping promotes longer breastfeeding.

Do you co-sleep? Will this new research change your mind one way or the other?

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