"Co-Sleeping" Kills 3 Infants A Month In City Of Philadelphia

Yesterday, I read this article in the Philadelphia Inquirer that reported 57 infants have died since the start of 2006 due to co-sleeping! That refers to where an infant and an adult sleep together. In the article, this practice led to the death of 57 in 20 months or about three deaths per month! That is disgraceful and I am astounded the police have not arrested any of these idiot adults for criminal negligence! Instead, the city health department is running an "education program".

Think about this- in 2005, the state reported 291 deaths in Philadelphia for children under five years old. The co-sleeping article indicates in the average year 36 of those deaths would be due to co-sleeping. In other words, more than one out of ten deaths (of kids under four years old) were probably preventable. This is a crime IMHO. Below I have posted the article for your reading horrification:

City effort targets safe sleeping for babies
By Robert Moran
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
With Philadelphia infants dying because parents are sleeping with their babies, the city has launched a campaign to warn against the dangerous practice.
At least 57 infants have died since the beginning of 2006 as a result of parents and babies "co-sleeping" or infants sleeping in unsafe places such as sofas, cushioned chairs or cluttered cribs, city officials said today.
Arthur Evans Jr., acting director of the Department of Human Services, called the numbers "very alarming" and said the problem was immediately apparent when he took over the agency a year ago.
"I noticed that there were a number of reports - sometimes multiple reports in a week - of adults sleeping with infants where the child died," Evans said.
A television and radio campaign, called "Sleeping Safely," began this week to teach parents proper sleeping practices for infants. The city is looking for funds to expand the campaign to buses, Evans said.
Evans said the parents who suffer these tragedies often "were trying to do the right thing" and would bring their babies to bed, for example, if they were crying.
"It's only when you sit in an agency like this that you see this is a dangerous practice," Evans said.
Officials also said that the city would help provide cribs for parents who need them. Parents seeking help getting cribs can call 215-972-0700 or visit the Web site www.momobile.org.