KTKA

New York City — The public service announcement is powerful in its simplicity.

A baby sleeping in bed with mom, and suddenly it happens.

"They get tangled up in the bed covers, trapped between the bed frame and mattress or smothered when an adult or older sibling fell asleep and rolled on to them," the PSA, put out by the New York State Children and Family Services office states.

Seeing it, officials hope, will drive the message home -- a message the medical community has been pushing for years, that sleeping in the same bed as your infant or young child is, in their words, extremely dangerous.

"You know we all want to bond with the baby, but we want to make sure that the baby is safe," New York State Children and Family Services Spokeswoman Gladys Carrion said.

The numbers are frightening. In New York State, 89 children have been killed in co-sleeping accidents since 2006. In New York City, 49 children were killed while sleeping with their parents in 2006 and 2007.

Studies show 75 percent of the children involved were newborn to 3 months old. The adults were most likely the child's 18- to 24-year-old mother.

"I already know of a baby last year who died 'cause her mother rolled over on her," one New York mother said.

Experts say most of the accidents happen on weekends when the parents are tired or medicated.

So, along comes the PSA, airing in Spanish and English. If the words don't work, they are hoping the images will.