Safe Bed Sharing
Keeping it safe is a top priority.
Safe bed sharing. The practice of bed sharing parents sharing a bed with their infant is a hot topic. Interaction between feeding method and co sleeping on maternal newborn sleep. Bringing baby onto a sleep surface when co sleeping is possible whether intended or not. Professor of biological anthropology director mother baby sleep laboratory university of notre dame.
Supporters of bed sharing believe that a parent s bed is just where a baby belongs. With some simple steps you can make sure your sleep environment is as safe as possible and can start enjoying all that co sleeping has to offer. Bed sharing on the rise. The debate over safe bed sharing continues to rage in the clinical and.
The baby sleeps in a cot or other separate sleeping surface in the same room as the parents. I get asked all the time can i bed share safely. Maximizing the chances of safe infant sleep in the solitary and cosleeping specifically bed sharing contexts by james j. In some non western cultures bed sharing is common and the number of infant.
This includes the practices of bed sharing and co sleeping on the same sleep surface. Below is a summary that highlights some of the issues to be. Guidelines to sleeping safe with infants. Sharing the same sleep surface.
Because what the numbers say pretty unequivocally is that sharing a bed with an infant is not safe. Also note that it can be unsafe for a baby s head to rest on the mother s arm before 3 months when they have strong head control. Bed sharing means you are sharing the same sleep space namely a bed with your baby. But others worry that bed sharing is unsafe.
One of the biggest issues when it comes to bed sharing is safety. This is a small but significant difference. Our advice on co sleeping with your baby will tell you how. For ann halbower md a children s colorado pediatric pulmonologist who specializes in sleep medicine that s a discouraging statistic.
The answer is yes but with a capital b u t bed sharing comes with risks. The prevalence and characteristics associated with parent infant bed sharing in england. Babies should be slept in a clear sleep space which is easy to create in a cot or moses basket. Bed sharing is just one of the ways that a family might co sleep but it is frequently practiced by breastfeeding mothers.
Archives of disease in childhood 89 no. Remember that bed sharing is associated with an increased chance of sids or accidents if you have taken drugs or alcohol are a smoker or have a premature baby.