Ad over dangers of co-sleeping with baby spurs debate
MILWAUKEE (MCT) — A startling ad campaign launched by the city of Milwaukee and intended to awaken parents to the dangers of sharing a bed with an infant is stirring a national debate that is not just about co-sleeping but also about the ad itself.
“Look, co-sleeping in this country leads to infant deaths,” Nancy Snyderman, NBC’s chief medical editor, said Wednesday morning during a segment on NBC’s “Today” show.
“But I think this (ad) is over the top, absolutely over the top.”
“If it saves one baby …,” interrupted advertising executive Donny Deutsch.
The ad depicts a baby sleeping in an adult bed, surrounded by puffy pillows and blankets. A butcher knife is tucked in the covers nearby.
Above the image, the ad says: “Your baby sleeping with you can be just as dangerous.”
In smaller letters, it says: “Babies can die when sleeping in adult beds. Always put your baby to sleep on his back, in a crib. If you can’t afford a crib, call (414) 286-8620.”
The phone number connects callers with the city Health Department’s “Cribs for Kids” program, which provides needy Milwaukee families with a free Pack ‘n Plays.
The ad was unveiled last week by Mayor Tom Barrett and Commissioner of Health Bevan Baker during a news conference in which they announced the city’s goal to reduce the city’s sky-high African-American infant mortality rate by 15 percent by 2017.
The ad was designed, at no charge, by Serve Marketing, whose founder and volunteer creative director Gary Mueller said the image is meant to unsettle.
“You’ve got to make people uncomfortable,” Mueller said. “That is what you have to do to change dyed-in-the-wool behavior.
“If it reduces infant death, it’s worth it,” he said.
Barrett said the ad’s blowback doesn’t surprise him.
“We want people to think about this,” he said.
“We are trying to change behavior in a way I believe will help save babies’ lives,” he said.
Stories about the ad popped up Wednesday across the Internet.
The Huffington Post story about the controversy included a reproduction of the ad above an item it called “Related: Vintage Ads Targeted To Parents That Made Us Gasp.”
Posted is an advertisement for Iver Johnson Revolvers. It pictures a young girl in her bed with a doll. The girl is holding a real gun.
“Papa says it won’t harm us,” the girl is saying.
A blog called The Mommy Files located on the San Francisco Chronicle’s website, asked: “Is it fair to demonize the family bed?”
A blog called momformation (blogs.babycenter.com) ran an item with headline: “Is this safe sleep ad too shocking?”
And a Facebook page — “Campaign Against Milwaukee’s Co-Sleeping Campaign” — popped up, providing a snapshot of opinions.
“I didn’t co-sleep, but I am appalled by the ads that depict it as dangerous,” one person posted.
“If done properly co-sleeping can be just as safe or possibly safer that crib sleeping.”
The Facebook page encouraged people to post pictures of co-sleeping.
Proponents of bed-sharing cite such authorities as Bill Sears, a pediatrician whose website (askdrsears.com) sets out what it calls “Scientific Benefits of Co-Sleeping,” and the La Leche League, whose website (llli.org ) advises parents that “co-sleeping can be a safe and warm way to parent babies.”
At least nine children have died in Milwaukee while in an unsafe sleep environment so far this year.
New guidelines released by the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that parents share a room, but not a bed, with their babies.
The National SUID/SIDS Resource Center puts it this way:
“If you bring your baby into bed for nursing or comforting, place your baby back in the crib before you go to sleep. Sharing your bed for a few minutes with your baby can be safe only when you are wide-awake. Never bring your baby into bed when you are sleepy. Never bring your baby into bed if you have been drinking alcohol or taking drugs or medicines that may make you sleepy. The only safe place for babies to sleep is their own cribs.”
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