RICHMOND, Va. -- Richmond Police said parents who sleep with their infant children are n0t breaking the law, but putting those children at risk.
"This year we've had nine infant deaths and five of them have been a result of co-sleeping," Richmond Police Major Steve Drew said.
In fact, the five co-sleeping deaths in 2014 equals the total number of co-sleeping deaths investigated by Richmond Police in 2011, 2012 and 2013 combined.
Given that recent statistic, police have come forward hoping to raise awareness.
"That's just not a chance I'm willing to take," new dad Jeremiah Holcomb, who brought home twin girls just three months ago, said. "As long as you feel that you're gonna sit up with them and hold them, then of course have them in the bed with you. But if you plan on laying down or trying to go to sleep, then no, I don't agree that they should be in the bed with you at all."
One mother told us she tried co-sleeping with her first infant, and then abandoned the practice for her other two children.
Co-sleeping is a global concern for doctors around the world who say the benefit does not outweigh the risk.
"If parents and infants are co-sleeping, then sometimes there can be a risk of strangulation to the infant, sometimes that can be a risk of suffocation," local pediatrician Dr. Eric Freeman said.
Dr. Freeman said parents should let their infants sleep on their back, with only a fitted sheet in the crib, to eliminate risks. He added that a good reference for parent is the website HealthyChildren.org.
The below statistics are for Richmond City.
| YEAR | NUMBER OF CHILD DEATHS | NUMBER OF CHILD CO-SLEEPING DEATHS |
| 2014 | 9 | 5 |
| 2013 | 5 | 1 |
| 2012 | 5 | 1 |
| 2011 | 10 | 3 |
| TOTAL | 29 | 10 |
