DaytonDailyNews.com

Dora Pappas believes sleeping with her infant son saved his life.

"He stopped breathing one night when he was 4 months old. If I had not been sleeping next to him, whatever part of my brain that was made to monitor my child's breathing as he slept would not have awakened me," the 31-year-old West Carrollton mother of two said.

Pappas, an engineer taking time off from work to raise her children, said safe "co-sleeping" is a nurturing, bonding experience for mother and child, a cultural tradition passed down through generations of her family.

Anthropologist James J. McKenna, who leads the Mother-Baby Sleep Laboratory at the University of Notre Dame, shares that view, as do pediatricians and parents on Web sites such as AskDrSears.com, DrJayGordon.com and AttachmentParenting.org.

But many in the health care community warn co-sleeping is a dangerous practice that could lead to "tragic sleep accident" or "layover death," a phenomenon that kills more than 2,500 babies across the country each year.

Two infants in the area died last week while sleeping with their parents — one in Dayton on July 2 and another in Riverside on July 4. While those deaths remain under investigation, local officials were quick to remind parents of the "ABC's" of safe sleep for an infant: Alone, on its Back and in a Crib.

"We've always said there's no one sleep space that can guarantee a baby will be risk free," said ABC proponent Mary Ann Swank, a perinatal specialist with Children's Medical Center of Dayton. "We just have to make it as safe as possible."

Sleep-related deaths in Ohio "is a problem that's not going away," said Merrily Wholf, coordinator for Ohio's Child Fatality Review Program, which reviews about 94 percent of the state's child deaths each year.

Wholf said the number of Ohio babies dying from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, where the cause of death can't be explained, is decreasing, from 107 in 2003 to 74 in 2006. But the number of overall sleep-related deaths is fairly constant (174 in 2006), meaning deaths by suffocation, strangulation and unknown or undetermined causes are on the rise, she said.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics and First Candle, formerly the National SIDS Alliance, there appears to be room for middle ground in the co-sleeping versus ABC debate: Letting your baby sleep in your bedroom in a crib or bassinet near your bed within arm's reach, perhaps in a sidecar arrangement (crib attached to the side of the bed).

Said Wholf, "I think if we could get families to follow these recommendations, we would have a lot of babies saved."

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Safe sleep for infants

Whether you support the ABC method (Alone, on its Back, in a Crib) or co-sleeping with your infant, experts offer several safety tips:

Babies should be put to sleep on their backs to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

Use a firm sleeping surface.

Never sleep with your baby if you are under the influence of drugs that make you unusually groggy or sleepy.

Exceptionally obese parents should use a sidecar arrangement (crib attached to the side of the bed) rather than having infant in the bed with them.

Do not overload the bed with excessive pillows, blankets or stuffed animals.

Never fall asleep with your baby on a couch, sofa or overstuffed chair.

Make sure the bed where your infant is sleeping isn't near any blinds with cords.