As sent to Radio 4’s More or Less prog: Please can you look at today’s news story re a Professor Carpenter and his team who states that a baby sleeping with its mum (co sleeping) is more likely to suffer sudden death syndrome or ‘cot’ death than if it had slept in a ‘cot’.   It is particularly worrying as the Government are using his ‘evidence’ to advice mothers.  I heard him speak at length on the Vanessa  show yet he did not say anything that convinced me or most listeners. The debate is on Vanessa Feltz‘s Face Book page and can be heard on Listen again – BBC London radio 21 May 2013 9-12 mid day.

For example he said nothing to explain why  other babies in the study who had also died (but in cots etc) had died…Surely his line  of reasoning would  suggest that the other babies (not co sleeping) who died, died as a  result of sleeping in cots. . so logically we should not be putting them to sleep in cots?? But I did not get the chance to put that to him.

At my phoned in suggestion that it could therefore  be pure coincidence (a red herring) that the  babies  died while co sleeping and that if they had been put to sleep anywhere they may have died  –  for same ‘usual’  mysterious reasons.  He then made a bizarre analogy saying that children may die whether or not a fireguard is placed in front of a fire!

It is an important study for your programme  to look into for we are a pro co sleeping family among many and this is more popular than ever.  There are many references on the Facebook exchange which rubbish this study – also several professional callers in.

Animals seem not to lose their babies by co sleeping.  I believe The Government asked for the survey and will be using the results to give advice to new mothers.  Can you help with this please?