She argues for the attachment theory: if the child is allowed to decide when they are ready to leave babyhood behind, they will be happy, independent children. Her research shows that they will usually ask for their own room by the time they are two, or respond well to gentle weaning if parents can display trust in their child's ability to cope with this.Children who have slept with their parents are also less likely to experience regressive behaviour such as coming into the parents' bed when they are older. Jackson, who continues to research and write on the subject, told me how her three co-sleeping children did not cry in the night, nor rely on objects such as blankets or dummies. Unconvinced that this is a recipe for healthy independence, yet worried that Jemima would still be in our bed at 16, I turned to the co-sleeping guru Deborah Jackson, author of Three in a Bed, for advice.
In Toddler Taming, Dr Christopher Green even admits to having put rope across his child's bedroom door. "Knock that idea on the head right away! You're making a rod for your own back!"Most parenting manuals talk of teaching your child to become independent by helping them to sleep alone. They sleep less deeply than solitary babies, making them less prone to arousal deficiencies that may lead to cot deaths.Faced with a tragedy such as the recent one, one can see why the DH and FSID have a blanket policy against co-sleeping. But then, should one also advise against driving with children, rather than using a car seat and driving safely? There is something about co-sleeping that doesn't seem to fit comfortably in our culture.Even I, nearly a convert, have another pressing concern. If we invite Jemima into our bed, will she ever leave? This wasn't helped when, at my local tots' group, my guiltily confessed plans to co-sleep were greeted by a barrage of tut-tutting and head-shaking. McKenna's research at his sleep laboratory shows that bed-sharing babies are more able to self-regulate temperature so are unlikely to overheat.
This has been proven by a 70 per cent drop in cot deaths in the UK since this advice was first given in 1991. Tragically, it has also been proven by the development of SIDS (often the first cases of a previously unknown phenomenon) in societies that have replaced their traditional culture of co-sleeping with the Western ideal of cots and nurseries.While there continues to be no medical explanation for SIDS, the US sleep expert James McKenna (and others in his field) says that we cannot ignore the evidence that where babies sleep close to their mothers as nature intended, they rarely die of SIDS. Nearly all of these involve adults who smoke or have been drinking. The remaining 75 per cent occur in cots, on sofas, and other places where babies sleep.What all professionals agree on, however, is that babies should sleep close to their parents during their first six months at least, when most vulnerable to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Last month, the coroner on the case urged the Government to issue clear warnings against co-sleeping.Both the Department of Health (DH) and the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID) advise against bed-sharing on the grounds that it can increase the risk of cot death and smothering. However, Attachment Parenting International, the National Childbirth Trust and the Royal College of Midwives all support parents who co-sleep, arguing that the benefits of responsible co-sleeping far outweigh the risks. But what about the pitfalls? Earlier this year, a five-week-old baby died from suffocation after sharing a bed with her mother.
