Fiona was not warned about bed sharing

Her son Connor, her first child, was just 10 weeks old when he died. He slept in his parents bed because he wouldn't settle.

Fiona is also a smoker. Now parents are told that both these things increase the risk of cot death.

But a survey by the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths has found that many parents are still confused.

If you are breastfeeding, it is very easy to bring the baby into your bed Fiona Marsh Babies still at risk

"He had always shared our bed from being two or three days old," said Fiona.

"He would not settle in any other sleeping quarters, apart from our bed.

"Had we had guidelines telling us not to share with him, we would not have done so, but it was not actively discouraged then.

"There were dos and don'ts about looking after your baby, but there wasn't anything at that stage on bed sharing, and it wasn't discouraged by healthcare professionals - certainly not in my experience.

Natural thing

"It was a lot easier to get him to sleep in our bed. If you are breastfeeding, it is very easy to bring the baby into your bed, and fall asleep.

Connor always slept with his parents

"It the most natural thing in the world to do, and you are very sleep deprived.

"It comes as a big culture shock with your first baby when you are used to only having yourself to look after, and then suddenly you are woken up at different times in the night by this little baby who needs feeding.

Fiona said it was not always easy to follow guidelines when faced with a fractious child. But she has managed to make sure that her three other children were kept out of her bed.

"There are a lot of parents who do bed share, and there are a lot of parents who don't intend to bed share, but still end up doing it any way.

"But although the guidelines do appear to be difficult to follow for a new parent, there is still a baby dying every day in this country, and 25% of these are dying in an adult bed.