Tarrant County struggles with a high infant mortality rate, but doctors say new recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics is a step in the right direction.
In October, the organization released its recommendations to help prevent sudden infant deaths
Infants should sleep in the same bedroom as their parents for at least the first six months of their lives to minimize the risk of sleep-related deaths, according to new guidelines. Ideally, babies should stay in their parents' room at night for a full year.
Babies shouldn't share a bed with parents, however, because that increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), the guidelines stress.
The safest spot for infant sleep is on a firm surface, such as a crib or bassinet without any soft bedding, bumpers or pillows.
"We never recommend co-sleeping. We recommend feeding the baby in the bed with you if you like and then putting the baby back in their own bed," said Dr. Mickey Hooper, an OB-GY N at Baylor All Saints Medical Center at Fort Worth.
Hooper says the new guidelines reiterate what local health officials have emphasized for years.
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Fort Worth has been the epicenter of infant mortality in Texas for years, according to doctors at Cook Children's Medical Center.
A citywide initiative trains hospital personnel on infant mortality and safe infant sleep practices.
Erica Mercado, a mother in North Richland Hills, says she knows the dangers of co-sleeping, but says it was the easiest option with her first child.
"He woke up quite a bit, breastfeeding in the middle of the night, and it was difficult and still is difficult to get him out of the bed and not sleep with us at three years old," Mercado said.
She has a new plan for baby number two.
"We're not going to do the co-sleeping thing and we're gonna have a bassinet and keep him in the bassinet," Mercado said.
