BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- It's a parent's worst nightmare -- to wake up and find their baby not breathing. But for dozens of Texas parents, this nightmare became a reality last year.

The tragic part is that these deaths may have been prevented if the infants had been sleeping in their own beds.

Texas officials have started tracking the number of babies who suffer strangulation or suffocation while sharing a bed with a family member. The figure is shocking -- around 160 Texas infants die while co-sleeping each year.

A Dallas Morning News analysis of the data revealed that Saturday is the deadliest night by far, leading doctors to suspect that parents' alcohol use plays a role.

Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics have cautioned against parents sleeping with their children because of studies linking co-sleeping with sudden infant death syndrome.

Still, many parents continue to practice this, believing that they and the baby get more rest this way.

But according to the AAP, most pediatricians said the facts are clear: babies are safest in a crib that is free of blankets, pillows, and toys.