Objective. To explore the relationship between bedsharing and smoking.  Bedsharing is common.  Some consider it a risk factor for SIDS but the reported association between bedsharing and SIDS is controversial.

Methods. Oregon Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) surveys a stratified random sample of women after a live birth. In 1998-1999, 1867 women completed the survey (73.5% weighted response). Women who reported smoking in the last trimester of pregnancy (12.9% of the sample) are prenatal smokers; women who were smoking at the time they completed the survey (20.3% of the sample; mean=14 weeks after birth) are postpartum smokers.

Results:  Oregon mothers bedshared 35.2% frequently (“almost always” or “always”), 41.4% “sometimes” and 23.4% “never.” Results for prenatal and postpartum smoking mothers are shown below:

	Weighted Frequency of Bedsharing				Chi-square p value
	Always %	Almost Always %	Sometimes %	Never %
Total	20.5	14.7	41.4	23.4
Prenatal smoking Yes No	24.9 16.0	10.8 15.3	44.3 41.1	20.1 24.0	.4195
Postpartum smoking Yes No	18.8 20.6	12.6 15.3	45.1 40.6	23.6 23.5	.7518

There is no significant association between smoking and bedsharing for either prenatal or postpartum smokers. Smoking mothers are as likely to bedshare as non-smoking mothers.

Conclusions: Bedsharing is common in Oregon. Epidemiologic evidence shows that bedsharing is associated with an increase in SIDS risk among infants of smoking mothers but there is no increased risk among infants of non-smoking mothers.  Public health practitioners need to find ways to inform mothers and providers that smoking mothers should not bedshare.