Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

null

Aired May 03, 2002 - 11:15   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Allowing babies to sleep in adult beds may pose hidden hazards. That's the word today from the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us from New York with more on the safety campaign. It's got to be big surprise to a lot of parents -- Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I think so. You know as a father, most parents, probably at some time or another, have put their child, their little baby in their bed with them. It's 4:00 in the morning, the baby is screaming, and the only thing that will pacify this child is to be in bed with his mommy and daddy.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is saying do not do that. They've said, from what this report says, is that from 1999 to 2001, 180 small children died in their parent's beds, and almost all of them were below the age of one.

Now, they died for a variety of reasons, and we have some video that has a doll that shows what happened to these children. Some, for example, got stuck between the wall and the bed. And the baby was smothered, if there was soft bedding there. That's a problem for babies. Here you see a baby getting stuck between a wall and a night stand. Also, babies get stuck between mattresses and head and foot boards. And also, sometimes adult beds have spindles that are too far apart. Babies' heads can get stuck and babies were also killed that way. In addition, there were 58 baby whose died during that three- year period because someone rolled over on top of them.

The safest way, the Consumer Products Safety Commission says, for baby to sleep is in a regular crib on their back. And that's to prevent SIDS. So this is a disturbing report that says absolutely don't put your child in an adult bed with their family.

LEON: To tie that into other reports we've heard in the past, the crib shouldn't be near any blinds with the strings that come down. We heard that story a couple of years ago as well.

COHEN: Absolutely.

LEON: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you very much. I hope the folks listen to your report.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com