The tussle between two firms says a lot about the difficulty of getting your baby to sleep safely | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

Wildly differing views about cosleeping and products like baby pods abound online. I admire those who offer clear, sensible support

The first night we brought my son home from the hospital to our empty flat, we sat up far longer than needed, unmoored by a new, overwhelming responsibility to keep him alive. That some babies stop breathing in their sleep, and scientists still don't really know why, terrified me when I'd just been primally rewired towards his survival. All you can do, you are told, is try to minimise risk.

And so you commit the guidelines to memory: For the first 12 months (adjusted for prematurity), the baby should be placed on its back in their own clear, flat, firm separate sleep space (eg a cot or moses basket) in the same room as you. They should not get too hot, and it should be a smoke-free environment."

Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett is a Guardian columnist and author. She is the author of a novel, The Tyranny of Lost Things, and a memoir, The Year of the Cat