The debate over bed-sharing
Journal Gazette/Times-Courier Online
BY AMY BURCH, Staff Writer Monday, March 17, 2003 11:18 AM CST

"Rashida Cooper and Cha-Raya Patterson wanted their babies to sleep in bassinets or cribs -- anywhere but with them. But it didn't work out that way for either mother. "She doesn't sleep on her baby bed," Patterson said of 11-month-old Niauna. "She just kept waking up every time I kept putting her there." Both are among a rising number of parents who are choosing to share their bed with their babies. Some experts, however, warn that the trend is dangerous. Dr. James Kemp's research has found bed-sharing is responsible for the higher number of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome cases among the African-American population. Kemp is associate professor of pediatrics at St. Louis University School of Medicine. Cooper, 24, and Patterson, 18, believe their babies are safer in bed with them. They both are African-American."