No matter how much our own beds, and our kids' beds, were different from today's guidelines, it is worth paying attention. SIDS is suffocation, plain and simple, and is always a tragedy. So, make baby quilts, and floor quilts, and sleeping sacks, but no bumper pads or crib pillows, and trust the baby's parents to do the right thing.
When I ran a family homeless shelter, I insisted that we have a crib, properly fitted out, available for each baby. If a parent wanted to have the baby sleep with him/her, they had to endure a brief lecture from me on the dangers of SIDS.
I did not want any baby to die on my watch, if I could possibly help it.