Why is bed sharing good?

The benefits of bed sharing: Promotes bonding—Three things encourage mother-child bonding: sleeping nearby, touching the baby, and breastfeeding. Helps baby go to sleep easier—In the early months, infants need to be parented to sleep (not just put down which can be traumatic if left alone to cry).

What are the pros and cons of bed sharing?

Studies show co-sleeping can help increase the duration of breastfeeding, as moms who co-sleep can more easily breastfeed at night, and are more likely to continue long term. With other people in the bed, there is a chance babies can be injured by parents that move or roll over in their sleep.

What are the benefits of family sleeping together?

A deeper sense of love and trust develop between parents, siblings, and children who sleep in the same room or the same bed together. Research has also shown that children who co-sleep with their family are able to develop deeper personal connections in their lives.

Is it healthy to share a bed with your child?

Although some parents see benefits to co-sleeping with their child, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) does not recommend it. It's much safer for your infant or toddler to sleep alone in their own bed.

At what age is bed sharing OK?

Beginning at the age of 1, co-sleeping is generally considered safe. In fact, the older a child gets, the less risky it becomes, as they are more readily able to move, roll over, and free themselves from restraint. Co-sleeping with an infant under 12 months of age, on the other hand, is potentially dangerous.

How to co-sleep more safely

What are the cons of bed-sharing?

What are the negative effects of co-sleeping?

For example, co-sleeping during the school-aged years has been associated with problems initiating sleep, less nighttime sleep, more daytime sleepiness, more bedtime resistance, increased nighttime awakenings, and greater levels of sleep anxiety (Blader et al.

What are the psychological benefits of co-sleeping?

Typically, children who cosleep may develop develop a stronger sense of independence, confidence, and emotional intelligence later in life. Despite the common assumption that bedsharing can make children overly dependent on their parents, research has shown that in fact, the opposite can be true (source).

Is bed sharing biologically normal?

Bedsharing does not cause infant death. To bedshare or not is a cultural norm, not a human norm. The close proximity between the birth parent and baby allow for frequent latching during the night which helps maintain milk supply, infant growth, and allows breastfeeding to continue longer.

What percentage of parents share bed?

In fact, 62% of parents said they co-sleep so their families get more sleep, while another 62% said they do so because they want to make their kids feel safe and secure.

Is bed-sharing healthy?

Because of the risks involved, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warn against bed-sharing. The AAP does recommend the practice of room-sharing without bed-sharing. Sleeping in the parents' room but on a separate surface lowers a baby's risk of SIDS.

What is sleep divorce?

A sleep divorce is simply sleeping apart, in separate beds or bedrooms so that both partners can get the best sleep, says Shelby Harris, a licensed clinical psychologist and director of sleep health at Sleepopolis.

Why do parents choose to co-sleep?

Co-sleeping: things to think about

For example, some parents who co-sleep with their babies believe that it helps their babies feel safe and secure. These parents like the close body contact, feel that it's rewarding and satisfying, and believe it's good for their relationships with their babies.

How important is sharing a bed in a relationship?

And sharing a bed with a partner does seem to improve a relationship and each partner's sleep. Researchers in Germany studying heterosexual couples found that sleeping together allowed couples to spend longer in REM sleep with less interruption of REM cycles.

When did families stop sharing beds?

Bed-sharing was widely practiced in all areas up to the 19th century, until the advent of giving the child his or her own room and the crib. In many parts of the world, bed-sharing simply has the practical benefit of keeping the child warm at night.

What countries encourage bed sharing?

Countries such as Sweden, Egypt, and Japan value a child-rearing model of interdependence and hold beliefs that co-sleeping is developmentally beneficial to children.

What cultures practice bed sharing?

In much of southern Europe, Asia, Africa and Central and South America, mothers and babies routinely share sleep.

What does research say about cosleeping?

Co-sleeping (aka bed sharing) is not endorsed by the AAP. This decision is based on research showing that bed sharing with babies results in a higher rate of SIDS. The risk of SIDS is even higher if you smoke, drink alcohol before bedtime, or take medicines that make it harder to wake up.

Why do babies sleep better next to mom?

Their research also argues that why your baby sleeps better next to you has a lot to do with the comforting touch of a parent. "A lot of mutual touch and interaction occurs between the sleep-sharers. What one does affects the nighttime behavior of the other," the website noted.

Are babies who co-sleep happier?

In short, and as mentioned above, cosleeping (whether on the same surface or not) facilitates positive clinical changes including more infant sleep and seems to make, well, babies happy. In other words, unless practiced dangerously, sleeping next to mother is good for infants.

What percentage of the world is co-sleeping?

"Ninety per cent of the world's population currently share sleep." What should you do when your baby just won't sleep? Professor Young said education was vitally important for any parents considering co-sleeping — just as cot safety was vitally important for parents who did not co-sleep.

Does Cosleeping reduce anxiety?

Bed-sharing with a child may worsen anxiety

In their study, they reported that “a significantly greater proportion of anxious youth compared to healthy children co-slept,” and “greater anxiety severity was related to more frequent co-sleeping.”

Why is co-sleeping so controversial?

It increases the risk of SIDS and suffocation

Parents or objects (like pillows or blankets) may unknowingly roll onto the baby at night, leading to injury, suffocation, or death. The AAP says co-sleeping is especially dangerous if the baby is younger than 4 months, was born prematurely, or had a low birth weight.

Is co-sleeping a hard habit to break?

Co-sleeping with a baby can also be a great way to connect with your little one if you're out at work all day, but it can be a pretty hard habit to break.

Does co-sleeping create codependency?

If you are a single parent, and if this is a constant nighttime routine, it may cause codependency in you and/or your child. As a result, instead of learning how to manage fears, your child will always associate co-sleeping with escaping from them.