When considering having a family bed, one of the most important concerns is:

Is it safe?
Well, it can be safe, but we should take some precautions to make sure it is.
Extra attention should be taken in case of very young babies.
Studies reported that co-sleeping with a nonsmoking mother did not lead to an increased risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrom):

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Co-sleeping
(Kenneth D. Rosenberg, MD, MPH)
In this article, the author describes the large studies of SIDS and co-sleeping.
These studies show an increased risk for SIDS, only when the baby co-sleeps with a smoking mother.


The American CPSC (consumer product safety commision) did some investigation of the hazards of placing babies in adult beds.   More about it...

Although the research conclusion is controversial, it points to some safety measures that should be taken.


I have added other safety recommendations from other resources and came out with the following list:
(If you know of other precautions that should be taken, please let me know.)

1. To avoid rolling over the baby:
    • Do not sleep with your baby if you are under the influence of alcohol or drugs
       (including tranquilizers).
    • Make sure your bed is not too crowded. How to increase bed size?
    • Locate siblings in a way they are not able to roll over the baby.
2. To avoid suffocation possibility:
    • Do not use soft bedding or pillows near the baby .
    • Do not put the baby to sleep on a bed with a soft mattress (couch, waterbed or
       other).
    • Eliminate all possibilities of the baby to be entrapped or wedged between the
       mattress and another object (wall, bed frame, headboard, footboard, bed railings
       or adjacent furniture) .
    • Do not use put stuffed animals near the baby .
3. These ones may help reducing the risk of SIDS:
    • Place baby on her back or side.
    • Do not overheat the room.
    • Do not smoke around the baby.
4. Prevent baby from falling off the bed.
    • Use a guardrail and place the baby next to it.    - or -
    • Position the mattress against the wall and place the baby next to the wall.    - or -
    • Move the bed out and place the mattress on the floor.
5. Eliminate all possibilities of strangulation in rails or openings on beds that allow a
    baby's body to pass through while entrapping the head.


    More about that same issue:
    • Sharing sleep safely: What you need to know, by James J. McKenna, Ph.D.
    • Why We Never Ask "Is it Safe for Infants to Sleep Alone?", by James J. McKenna, Ph.D.




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