LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police department is warning the public against co-sleeping or sleeping in the same bed as their infant.
So far this year, the department has reported seven deaths in their jurisdiction. There were 24 deaths in 2021 and 2022.
"These accidental, at the end of the day, preventable deaths are a huge burden to families," detective Bergman Gadea said. "These families are going through possibly the most traumatic incident they have lived through."
Gadea said these are some of the worst calls that detectives have to deal with.
"Our job is to determine if there was any foul play that played a factor in the accidental death," Gadea said. "It's extremely difficult to talk and interview these family members as they're dealing with loss."
Sara Bell is a mom of six. She said she's slept in the bed with all of her children when they were young.
She said she understands officials warning families about this issue but believes co-sleeping is natural.
"It's natural for us as humans to do it," Bell said. "I would say recommending against doing it completely isn't the way to go."
Bell said when mothers breastfeed, sharing a bed with a newborn can happen instinctively.
"It's either to sleep when you're nursing in the middle of the night," Bell said. "I can't imagine, being somebody who did that for many years, that process without co-sleeping."
Registered nurse and director of Clark County Safe Kids Jeanne Masala said there is no way to safely co-sleep with a baby.
"You should not be sleeping with your child until they are a minimum of two years of age," Masala said. "As a nurse, I solely support skin-to-skin. It's a beautiful bonding experience with your baby but it means you're awake with the baby skin-to-skin. The baby is going to bond with their mother and their father during feedings and especially if you're going to do that skin-to-skin. But they cannot create a sleeping environment for both you and your baby."
Masala said this is a problem that can happen to any parent, regardless of circumstances.
"I think one of the biggest misconceptions about co-sleeping is that the parent thinks these deaths are happening from them rolling over on the infant or sleeping too soundly," Masala said.
Mattresses on adult beds are much different from the mattresses in cribs and bassinets, according to Masala. She said that's because infants need specific bedding.
"A crib mattress is firm," Masala said. "It needs to have a tight-fitting sheet on it. That is so the baby cannot suffocate within the mattress or bedding."
Jill Roberts is the chief executive officer of the Trauma Intervention Program of Southern Nevada, TIP, a non-profit organization that sends volunteers in situations involving tragedies.
"It is one of the most difficult calls our volunteers respond to, a co-sleeping death," Roberts said. "Parents will never be able to overcome a tragedy like this. They have to learn to live a little bit differently."
Roberts said the whole family is affected by a newborn death. Their organization aims to provide emotional support to anyone impacted.
"It's not easy explaining to a sibling, that was looking forward to having a little brother or sister for a long time, why they no longer have a brother or sister," Roberts said. "We have a resource guide that is 65 pages full of information. A lot of the time, in the immediate aftermath, they're not ready for something like that but we do leave it behind so that they have continued resources."
TIP is always looking for more volunteers. You can click here for more information.
