Park Slope Parents: “Do You Want Your Child to Be Uncomfortable or Dead?”

In the New York Times: “For more than a decade, doctors have advocated putting babies to bed on their backs as a precaution against sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS… however, some new parents are finding that the benefits of having babies sleep soundly – more likely when they sleep on their stomachs – outweigh the comparatively tiny risk of SIDS.”

“‘Do you want your child to be uncomfortable or dead?’ asked Vanessa Saft, the mother of a 2-year-old, Ramona, and an early childhood educator … Ms. Saft said she was baffled by some of the permissive discussions she read on the e-mail list of the Park Slope Parents, where Brooklynites share their advice on vaccinations, sippy cups, schools, nannies and, also, sleeping.

“But Ms. Saft said she refrained from chiming in with an unpopular viewpoint, even one in line with the medical mainstream, because, ‘I always get in trouble.’”

Discuss: Park Slope Message Boards