According to a new study by JAMA Pediatrics released on Sept. 30, the rate of parents sleeping with their infants has more than doubled from 1993 to 2005 - 6.5 percent to 13 percent. That number only increases in minority households, where bed sharing during the same time period went from 21 percent to 39 percent among black households and 13 percent to 21 percent among Hispanic households.

Despite strong recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics and convincing data, parents continue to sleep with their babies for several reasons, according to Dr. Fern Hauck, the director of the international Family Medicine Clinic at the University of Virginia.

According to Hauck, bed sharing helps moms breast feed and makes them feel safer about the baby's health. From perhaps a more cultural standpoint, Hauck said bed sharing exists because moms and dads are merely following the practices of their own parents

"The recommendation to not bed-share was made very, very carefully, because we know how big it is," he told Reuters. "It's an emotional thing for people."

Still, more exact reasons for why minority families demonstrated significantly higher proportions were not given, a concerning fact for Dr. Eve Colson, professor of Pediatrics at Yale University and one of the executors of the study.

"We need to go to the next step to figure out why that is," she said to Reuters Health.

The Center For Disease Control (CDC) reports 4,000 infant deaths every year of no discernible cause and estimates that around half of those are the result of SIDS. That figure makes it the most deadly affliction to newborns in the United States.

By its definition, there aren't any direct causes of SIDS, but certain factors make its presence more likely, such as putting an infant to bed on his stomach, being a twin, having a sibling who died of SIDS, and being born premature.

Researchers believe doctors should better inform parents about the risk of bed sharing.

Dr. Colson called the study in a press release an "an opportunity" for doctors to speak with families about bed-sharing, given how infrequently those discussions seem to be happening now.

"This shows that a healthcare provider's advice matters, and they can play a key role in educating caregivers about the possible dangers of bed-sharing," she said.