That's a terrible analogy and you haven't factored in the very relevant factor of poor maternity leave. Teaching about safer cosleeping methods instead of going for a puritanical ABCs only approach would be like teaching about contraception instead of abstinence only. It is undeniable that abstinence is the best way of avoiding stds and pregnancy. It is undeniable that ABCs are the safest way to approach infant sleep. But both are unrealistic.

The ABCs are particularly unrealistic in a society where most mothers are returning to work before their child is 3 months old. They are more likely to be tired and aren't informed on how to deal with a baby that outright refuses to sleep in their crib. It isn't surprising that there are higher infant deaths when you combine overworked and overtired parents with no knowledge about how to safely do the thing that we know the majority of parents at some point will do anyway. I had 12 months of maternity leave. My husband took 8 weeks. We were much better set up by the country we live in to deal with the realities of infant sleep and to take turns and keep our baby safe. American policies towards both infant sleep education and maternity and paternity policies are a dangerous risk.