Co-sleeping

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Co-sleeping, also called the family bed, is a practice in which babies and young children sleep with one or both parents. It is standard practice in many parts of the world outside of North America and Europe. One 2006 study of children age 3-10 in India reported 93% of the children co-sleeping.Bharti B, Patterns and problems of sleep in school going children Indian Pediatr. 2006 Jan;43(1):35-8 Co-sleeping was widely practiced in all areas up until the 19th century, until the advent of giving the child his or her own room and the crib. In many parts of the world, co-sleeping simply has the practical benefit of keeping the child warm at night. Co-sleeping has been relatively recently re-introduced into Western culture by practitioners of attachment parenting. A 2006 study of children in Kentucky in the United States reported 15% of infants and toddlers 2 weeks to 2 years co-sleeping.Montgomery-Downs HE, Sleep habits and risk factors for sleep-disordered breathing in infants and young toddlers in Louisville, Kentucky. Sleep Med. 2006 Apr;7(3):211-9. Epub 2006 Mar 27.

Proponents variously believe that co-sleeping saves babies' lives (especially in conjunction with nursing),McKenna JJ, Why babies should never sleep alone: a review of the co-sleeping controversy in relation to SIDS, bedsharing and breast feeding, Paediatr Respir Rev. 2005 Jun;6(2):134-52. promotes bonding, lets the parents get more sleep, facilitates breastfeeding, and protects against sudden infant death syndrome ("SIDS"). Older babies can breastfeed during the night without waking their mother. Opponents argue that co-sleeping is both stressful and dangerous for the baby,Hunsley, M. The sleep of co-sleeping infants when they are not co-sleeping: evidence that co-sleeping is stressful.Dev Psychobiol. 2002 Jan;40(1):14-22. and argue that modern-day bedding is not safe for co-sleeping. They point to evidence that co-sleeping may increase the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome ("SIDS"), and argue that the parent may smother the child or promote an unhealthy dependence of the child on the parent.

According to some advice, co-sleeping is likely to end after a year or two if the child is not forced to co-sleep. The child may choose a place of his own, possibly on a surface that would appear to be uncomfortable by adult standards. Hot weather and weaning can encourage this natural separation.

Contents

1 Safety and Health

1.1 Products

2 Commencement of co-sleeping
3 references

Safety and Health

Co-sleeping triggers conflicting advice among health care professionals.Mace, S. Where should babies sleep? Community Pract. 2006 Jun;79(6):180-3. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission warns against it. [link] However, many pediatricians, breast-feeding advocates, and others have harshly criticized the CPSC recommendation. [link]

Co-sleeping is known to be dangerous when a parent smokes, but there are other risk factors as well. Web sites give advice on reducing the risks. [link] [link]. Some common advice given is to keep a baby on its back, not its stomach, that a child should never sleep with a parent who smokes, is taking drugs (including alcohol) that impede alertness, or is extremely obese. It is also recommended that the bed should be firm, and should not be a waterbed or couch; and that heavy quilts, comforters, and pillows should not be used. Young children should never sleep next to babies, because young children sleep in a way that would allow them to roll onto a baby. It is often recommended that a baby should never be left unattended in an adult bed; there may be a risk of falling to a hard floor even if the bed surface itself is no more dangerous than a crib surface.

There may be health advantages to co-sleeping. One studied reported mothers getting more sleep by co-sleeping and breastfeeding than by other arrangements.Quillin, SI, Interaction between feeding method and co-sleeping on maternal-newborn sleep. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2004 Sep-Oct;33(5):580-8. Further, it has been argued that co-sleeping evolved over five million years, that it alters the infant's sleep experience and the number of maternal inspections of the infant, and that it provides a beginning point for considering possibly unconventional ways of helping reduce the risk of SIDS.McKenna J, Experimental studies of infant-parent co-sleeping: mutual physiological and behavioral influences and their relevance to SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). Early Hum Dev. 1994 Sep 15;38(3):187-201.

Products

There are several products which can be used to facilitate safe co-sleeping with an infant.

bassinets that attach to the side of an adult bed, and which have barriers on three sides, but are open to the parent's bed (see example product on [Amazon.com]).
side rail or other [barrier], to prevent the child from rolling off
co-sleeping infant [enclosures] which are placed directly in the adult bed.

Commencement of co-sleeping

Co-sleeping can begin at a variety of ages, and for a variety of reasons:

Co-sleeping can be started at birth or within a few months of the child's birth. It has been argued that, children who began co-sleeping as infants exhibited more self-reliance and social independence than children in the second case or children who slept alone. This showed itself in areas such as settling disputes with playmates on their own rather than involving adults.

Co-sleeping can begin later, in response to the child's sleeping difficulties. Advocates of co-sleeping argue that under such circumstances co-sleeping does not cause behavioral challenges, rather, that it is a potentially effective response to such challenges.

Parents may "bedshare" with their children, without accepting the "co-sleeping" label. A study of a small population in Northeast England showed a variety of nighttime parenting strategies and that 65% of the sample had bedshared, 95% of them having done so with both parents. The study reported that some of the parents found bedsharing effective, yet were covert in their practices, fearing disapproval of health professionals and relatives.Hooker, F., Sleeping like a baby: attitudes and experiences of bedsharing in northeast England. Med Anthropol. 2001;19(3):203-22.

references

See also,

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