Studies have also shown benefits for male partners who co-sleep as well. Babies who co-sleep also regulate their breathing more effectively when hearing adults breathing in the same area. This reduced risk is true only for co-sleeping, not bed sharing.
This is actually a desirable trait as it reduces the risk of SIDS. While it may sound counterintuitive, babies who co-sleep tend to sleep more lightly and rouse more often to breastfeed.
The AAP recommends breastfeeding for at least 1 year, this can make meeting that goal more feasible. With easy access to the breast, babies feed often and for a longer duration of the breastfeeding relationship. Typically with nighttime breastfeeding, the parent doesn’t need to fully disrupt their sleep to feed and both parent and baby fall back to sleep quickly. The biggest benefits of co-sleeping and bed sharing are longer term breastfeeding and more sleep for the breastfeeding parent. As a postpartum doula, I was warned of the risk of discussing anything beyond approved safe sleep guidelines by the AAP and found that other postpartum and pediatric professionals were as well.
7 safe sleeping practices how to#
It was challenging to find solid resources on how to bed share safely as it is not encouraged. I had anxiety about safety and sought out resources on how we could bed share more safely. I had numerous safe sleep surfaces purchased yet continually fell asleep with him on me. As a new parent, I found myself dozing off while holding my newborn during breastfeeding even though I had intended to place him in a bassinet near my bed. Oftentimes bed sharing is inadvertent, due to fatigue and convenience. I did not disclose bed sharing with my pediatrician when asked about newborn sleep because I knew it was not in accordance with the AAP guidelines. The exact statistics are hard to come by as it is frequently underreported. While highly discouraged by pediatric and health professionals, many families do sleep with their babies at some point on the same sleep surface. Both have your baby nearby, but the main difference is that baby either has its own or a shared sleep surface. Bed sharing is when your baby shares a sleep surface with you, such as your bed. Co-sleeping is having your baby sleep in the same room as you but on their own sleep surface. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently updated their safe sleep guidelines and now recommends having your baby sleep in the same room, but not the same bed, as their parents until age 6 months.Ĭo-sleeping and bed sharing, while often used interchangeably, are not the same thing. Let’s discuss what it is, why you may or may not choose to practice it, and how to do it more safely. While some families firmly believe that their baby should only sleep in a crib in their own room, an increasing number are participating in a range of sleep practices from co-sleeping to bed sharing. However, in current Western society, it is a highly debated topic and not commonly practiced. Across cultures and history, co-sleeping and bed sharing have been common practices for a myriad of reasons from space constraints to cultural practices.
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