Co-sleeping refers to the practice of having your baby sleep in the bed with you. The American Academy of Pediatrics is concerned about a higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome, SIDS or suffocation under a sleeping parent. Smoking increases risks of SIDS for other reasons. Parents who are drinking heavily are sleeping more heavily and less likely to notice if they're lying on a baby.
Economist and author Emily Oster of Brown University talks about her book Cribsheet with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Oster explores what the data and evidence can tell us about parenting in areas such as breastfeeding, sleep habits, discipline, vaccination, and food allergies. Oster often finds that commonly held views on some of these topics are not well supported by the evidence while on others, the evidence appears decisive. Oster thoughtfully explores the challenges of using empirical work and balances our sometimes ignorance with common sense.