A Victorian coroner’s recommendation that health authorities should warn all parents against the dangers of co-sleeping with their baby risks some mothers rejecting all health messages, says a leading midwifery researcher.

Following an inquiry into the SIDS related deaths of four babies after co-sleeping, Coroner John Olle found sharing a sleeping environment must not occur in the first six months of a child's life and ideally not in the first year. Olle said the investigation and current research led him to conclude that "sharing a sleep surface with an infant is an inherently dangerous activity". He recommended that the health and early childhood departments deliver consistent public health and health promotion information advising caregivers about the risk of infant death because of co-sleeping. However, the...