The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is using shock tactics to raise awareness of the dangers of co-sleeping, the second leading cause of infant mortality in the U.S. city. The poster depicts a baby lying in a bed next to a large knife, and reads: “YOUR BABY SLEEPING NEXT TO YOU CAN BE JUST AS DANGEROUS.”
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) often results from ”unsafe sleep” of bed-sharing with parents.
“Is it shocking? Is it provocative?” argued the city’s commissioner of health, Bevan Baker. ”Yes. But what is even more shocking and provocative is that 30 developed and underdeveloped countries have better [infant death] rates than Milwaukee.”
According to the report in The Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee's infant mortality rate in 2009 was 10.4 deaths for every 1,000 live births, and race certainly played a factor, with the rate of white babies at 5.4; 14.1 for blacks.
Co-sleeping advocates are not impressed by Milwaukee's efforts and stressed that responsible co-sleeping is perfectly safe for babies.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett told ABC News that he is willing to “take some heat” on the issue. “If the ads make some people uncomfortable, I guarantee it’s a lot less uncomfortable than having another baby die from co-sleeping.”
Do you think such scare advertising is effective or, like smoking labels, will largely be ignored by those who choose to engage in that behaviour?
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