Yahoo Lifestyle Co-sleeping: Bedroom Secrets
In centuries past, sharing a bed with your baby was very much the norm – and if Mum and Dad weren’t available, older siblings, Grandma or even a nursemaid would do the job. Then, somewhere along the way, stricter parenting guidelines, larger house sizes, concerns over germs and suffocation, and fears of coddling kids and neglecting marriages saw Western children relegated to their own bedrooms.
Today, however, co-sleeping is making a comeback. Whether out of ideology, a sense of closeness or simple convenience (no struggling out of bed to breastfeed or endlessly rocking your baby to sleep), sharing the bed with littlies is now pretty commonplace. A range of studies reveal that up to 80 per cent of infants sleep in their parents’ bed at some stage during their first six months of life and a third of all children do so frequently, especially in the first 12 weeks. But is this the best thing for bubs? And how valid are those health concerns?
According to Dr Sarah Buckley, author of Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering ($35.99, Celestial Arts), there’s nothing more natural than sleeping in the same bed as your child. Not only does such close contact help release the feel-good hormone oxytocin – “which gives you both a lovely calm and connected feeling that lasts all night” – but it also regulates your bodily processes, she says.
Professor James McKenna from the US University of Notre Dame has spent 30 years researching infant sleep and agrees that babies should always sleep near their parents, either by sharing a bed or, at the very least, a room “within sensory contact” for the first six months. He says this encourages longer and better breastfeeding, and reduces the stress of trying to get bub to sleep. “Training infants to sleep through the night alone, and at an early age, goes against the infant’s neurobiology and psychology,” he adds.
But not everyone agrees that co-sleeping is ideal, and one of the biggest concerns is the risk of fatal sleep accidents and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). According to a 2009 British study, more than half of all sudden and unexplained infant deaths happen when the child is sharing a bed or lounge with a parent. SIDS and Kids Australia recommends sleeping your baby in her own safe sleeping environment next to your own bed for the first six to 12 months. “It’s very important that babies have their own safe sleeping surface without clutter, without things over their head,” says CEO Leanne Raven. “There’s evidence that sleeping them this way, particularly on their back, reduces the risk of tragedies happening.”
Here are some precautions for sharing the bed from Dr Buckley:
After breastfeeding, turn your baby onto her back.
If one parent is very heavy, use a very firm mattress to ensure bub can’t roll into a hole in the middle. "It’s probably safest to sleep your baby on the outside edge, rather than between the two adults.”
A young baby can wriggle into a small gap and suffocate. Watch for gaps between the mattress and adjoining walls, furniture, headboard, footboard and any railings. “An adult mattress used for bed sharing may be safer on the floor well away from walls, but you should always ensure that a baby who rolls off is safe from entrapment and injury.”
Don’t overheat your bub. One layer of natural-fibre clothing and bedding is recommended. Make sure that her face is uncovered.
If either parent smokes, safely sleep your baby on a separate surface close by.
Do not co-sleep if you are under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Never put your baby to sleep alone in an adult bed. “She is safer sleeping alone in a cot or in a safe place on a mattress on the floor, away from pets. It’s also unsafe to sleep a baby next to another child who might roll onto her.”
Find more safe-sleeping tips at Dr Buckley's website, www.sarahbuckley.com/
So is co-sleeping for you? To find out more, including how co-sleeping can impact your relationship, check out the November issue of Practical Parenting, out now!
What do you think? Does co-sleeping work for you or do you find the concept a little confronting?
Discuss this with our forum members here.
RELATED LINKS:
