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Article: Debating the family bed: Researchers remain at odds over merits, dangers of co-sleeping
- Article from:
- Sunday Gazette-Mail
- Article date:
- February 23, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2003 Sunday Gazette-Mail. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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tara@wvgazette.com
More and more American parents are banishing the crib in favor of
the "family bed." Since 1993, the number of infants who usually sleep
with an adult has more than doubled to almost 13 percent, according
to the National Institutes of Health.
West Virginia is ahead of the trend. In the 1990s, about 68
percent of mothers here slept with their babies at least some of the
time, a study at the University of California-Berkeley found.
Poverty is one explanation. The parents might not own a crib, so
the baby has to sleep with them. Researchers also cite cultural
factors; for some Indian, Hispanic and other people, the family bed
has been practiced for generations.
One West ...