Co-sleepingbegins in infancy andoften continues through to childhood as part of early nurturing practices. In evolutionary terms the human infant is the most neurologically immature primate at birth and develops the most slowly, thus intense and prolonged mother-infant contact acts as a protectivemechanismagainst physiological difficulties and environmental assaults. Proposed benefits of close ...

Approximately 3500 infants die annually in the United States from sleep-related infant deaths, including sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS; International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision [ICD-10], R95), ill-defined deaths (ICD-10 R99), and accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed (ICD-10 W75). After an initial decrease in the 1990s, the overall death rate attributable to sleep-...

Transmission of infectious gastroenteritis was studied in 936 predominately Hispanic households in northern California. Among 3,916 contacts of 1,099 primary case-patients, the secondary attack rate was 8.8% (95% confidence interval 7.9-9.7); children had a 2- to 8-fold greater risk than adults. Bed-sharing among children in crowded homes is a potentially modifiable risk.

Approximately 3500 infants die annually in the United States from sleep-related infant deaths, including sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), ill-defined deaths, and accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed. After an initial decrease in the 1990s, the overall sleep-related infant death rate has not declined in more recent years. Many of the modifiable and nonmodifiable risk factors for S...

In Response: We agree with Montgomery et al. (1) that Chagas disease is not directly transmitted by dogs to humans. However, we emphasize that Chagas disease is in the southern United States even if risk for infection is extremely low. A study in Mexico found direct correlation of seropositivity between humans and dogs, suggesting that testing dogs may help identify prevalence of Trypanosoma cr...

Aim To provide descriptive figures for infant distress and associated parenting at night in normal London home environments during the first three months of age. BACKGROUND Most western infants develop long night-time sleep periods by four months of age. However, 30% of infants in many countries sleep for short periods and cry out on waking in the night: the most common type of infant sleep b...