OMAHA, Neb. -- The state's chief medical officer said on Tuesday that there needs to be more public awareness of the dangers of adults sharing beds with children.

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On Monday, KETV NewsWatch 7 reported that six children have died this year apparently because they were sleeping with adults. The Douglas County Health Department said the practice is called co-sleeping. Many new mothers are told before they leave the hospital after delivery that doctors don't recommend it.

The six deaths have all taken place in Douglas County since mid-February and have all been classified as sudden infant deaths. Officials said it appears all six babies suffocated.

Between one-third and one-half of Nebraska infant deaths attributed to SIDS every year are associated with co-sleeping, Dr. Joann Schaefer said on Tuesday. Schaefer is the state's chief medical officer and director of the Division of Public Health of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. In 2006, of 20 sleep-associated or SIDS deaths, eight of the infants were known to be bed-sharing. Provisional data from 2007 show that of 13 sleep-associated or SIDS deaths, at least five involved bed-sharing.

"Bed-sharing increases the risk of suffocation and SIDS," Schaefer said in a news release. "It's important that parents and other caregivers understand the danger. Sleeping with an infant can be comforting to both the baby and the parents, but it can be deadly."

In 2006 the Legislature passed a bill requiring that hospitals, birthing centers and other medical facilities show each mother and father a video presentation and provide written information approved by DHHS on the dangers of SIDS, including information about the danger of having infants sleep in the same bed with adults or other children. The written information is also required to cover the dangers of shaking children and measures to prevent SIDS. Videos and brochures are available on the DHHS Web site at http://www.dhhs.ne.gov/sids/.

DHHS is sending an informational letter to health care providers across the state, urging them to work with their patients to ensure that babies are sleeping safely.