Make sure to consider heating concerns as well as all the safety issues surrounding
shared sleep surfaces, many of which can be found in Dr. James McKenna's list of safe co-sleeping guidelines.
In addition, according to the American Journal of Public Health, 64 % of sudden unexplained infant deaths occurred when the babies were
sharing a sleep surface with someone else.
In 47.1 percent of the infant deaths,
a shared sleep surface was involved.
Throughout human history, babies and mothers have slept together, often
sharing a sleep surface (Konner 1981).
For example, there is evidence that
sharing a sleep surface is more dangerous for babies of low birth weight (low for gestational age or less than 2500 grams - McGarvey et al 2006).
But it's not yet clear if a stringent approach to
sharing a sleep surface — an approach that eliminates the hazards posed by Western beds and sleep habits — is linked with any elevated risk.
It is interesting to note that the study defined bed sharing as the practice of
sharing a sleep surface and did not therefore identify those cases when the baby was asleep with a parent on a sofa.
Sharing a sleep surface with your baby allows you to practice and master side - lying breastfeeding.
Bed sharing is the unsafe practice of
sharing a sleeping surface, such as your bed, with your baby.
Red Nose 2017,
Sharing a sleep surface with a baby.
If you smoked when you were pregnant, or you do now, you should use a co-sleeper or bassinet instead of
sharing the sleep surface with your baby.
Subsequently, by virtue of defining that an adult and infant are unable to safely sleep on the same surface together, such as what occurs during bedsharing, even when all known adverse bedsharing risk factors are absent and safe bedsharing practices involving breastfeeding mothers are followed, an infant that dies while
sharing a sleeping surface with his / her mother is labeled a SUID, and not SIDS.26 In this way the infant death statistics increasingly supplement the idea that bedsharing is inherently and always hazardous and lend credence, artificially, to the belief that under no circumstance can a mother, breastfeeding or not, safely care for, or protect her infant if asleep together in a bed.27 The legitimacy of such a sweeping inference is highly problematic, we argue, in light of the fact that when careful and complete examination of death scenes, the results revealed that 99 % of bedsharing deaths could be explained by the presence of at least one and usually multiple independent risk factors for SIDS such as maternal smoking, prone infant sleep, use of alcohol and / or drugs by the bedsharing adults.28 Moreover, this new ideology is especially troubling because it leads to condemnations of bedsharing parents that border on charges of being neglectful and / or abusive.
Another recent study in the American Journal of Public Health found 64 percent of babies who died of SIDS were
sharing a sleep surface and nearly half were with an adult.
Not exact matches
We know that if a mother smokes, if she has consumed alcohol or other sedatives, if the baby is formula fed, if the
sleep surface is a sofa or water bed, or if the bed is also
shared with other children that a baby
sleeping with his or her mother is at heightened risk of SIDS or accidental death.
Room -
sharing (baby on a separate, safe
sleep surface in the same room as
sleeping parents), however, is correlated with lower SUID / SIDS risks.
Bed -
sharing means we all
sleep on the same
surface.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommended room
sharing with your baby by having them
sleep on an entirely different
surface than you, such as a bassinet or crib, but keep them in the same room.
The high incidence of infant suffocation underscores the importance of a safe
sleeping environment as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which includes supine positioning, a firm
sleep surface, room -
sharing without bed -
sharing, and avoiding loose bedding (9).
Their safe
sleep seven includes that a mother must be a non-smoker, sober, breastfeeding, that her baby is a healthy full term infant, on their back and is lightly dressed and unswaddled and lastly that they
share a safe
surface.
The Academy of Pediatrics, adapted their «safe
sleep guidelines» including recommending that a baby should «
Share a bedroom with parents, but not the same
sleeping surface, preferably until the baby turns 1 but at least for the first six months.»
Bed
sharing, a practice where mother and infant
sleep on the same
surface, remains popular all over the world despite potential health risks for the infant.
The AAP, however, dissuades parents from bed -
sharing, or
sleeping on the same
surface as baby.
Guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) advise caretakers to put infants to
sleep on their backs and to avoid loose bedding, soft
sleeping surfaces and bed
sharing in order to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), the leading cause of death in children between one month and one year of age.
You can opt for room -
sharing so you can
sleep together with your baby lying on a separate
surface (like a co-sleeper) within arm's reach.
Co-
Sleeping and Bed
Sharing both refer to when you and your infant are
sleeping on the same
surface.
At the last
sleep, more cases than controls were placed on their stomachs or sides, did not use a pacifier, were found with bedding or clothing covering the head,
slept on a soft
surface, and
shared a bed with someone other than a parent.
Some sources publicize bed -
sharing as an unsafe practice, no matter how it's done, but there are ways to
sleep safely while bed -
sharing if you follow guidelines for safe
sleep surfaces and safe
sleep sharing.
Something to
Sleep On Research on infant sleep risks, which we go over in depth in Chapter 19, shows again and again that the big risks of shared sleep are a mix of SIDS risks that affect vulnerable babies and breathing hazards that affect all babies: smoking, alcohol or drugs, risky surfaces like sofas, baby on his front (unless he's on an adult's chest), and formula - fee
Sleep On Research on infant
sleep risks, which we go over in depth in Chapter 19, shows again and again that the big risks of shared sleep are a mix of SIDS risks that affect vulnerable babies and breathing hazards that affect all babies: smoking, alcohol or drugs, risky surfaces like sofas, baby on his front (unless he's on an adult's chest), and formula - fee
sleep risks, which we go over in depth in Chapter 19, shows again and again that the big risks of
shared sleep are a mix of SIDS risks that affect vulnerable babies and breathing hazards that affect all babies: smoking, alcohol or drugs, risky surfaces like sofas, baby on his front (unless he's on an adult's chest), and formula - fee
sleep are a mix of SIDS risks that affect vulnerable babies and breathing hazards that affect all babies: smoking, alcohol or drugs, risky
surfaces like sofas, baby on his front (unless he's on an adult's chest), and formula - feeding.
Sleeping on couches and armchairs places infants at extraordinarily high risk of infant death, including SIDS, 4,6,7,42,43 suffocation through entrapment or wedging between seat cushions, or overlay if another person is also
sharing this
surface.44 Therefore, parents and other caregivers should be especially vigilant as to their wakefulness when feeding infants or lying with infants on these
surfaces.
Bed -
sharing, also called the «family bed,» describes a
sleep arrangement where the family members
sleep on the same
sleep surface.
For instance, it has been suggested that the physical restraint associated with swaddling may prevent infants placed supine from rolling to the prone position.299 One study's results suggested a decrease in SIDS rate with swaddling if the infant was supine, 182 but it was notable that there was an increased risk of SIDS if the infant was swaddled and placed in the prone position.182 Although a recent study found a 31-fold increase in SIDS risk with swaddling, the analysis was not stratified according to
sleep position.171 Although it may be more likely that parents will initially place a swaddled infant supine, this protective effect may be offset by the 12-fold increased risk of SIDS if the infant is either placed or rolls to the prone position when swaddled.182, 300 Moreover, there is no evidence that swaddling reduces bed -
sharing or use of unsafe
sleep surfaces, promotes breastfeeding, or reduces maternal cigarette smoking.
The recommendations described in this policy statement include supine positioning, use of a firm
sleep surface, breastfeeding, room -
sharing without bed -
sharing, routine immunizations, consideration of using a pacifier, and avoidance of soft bedding, overheating, and exposure to tobacco smoke, alcohol, and illicit drugs.
Cosleeping is when parent and infant
sleep in close proximity (on the same
surface or different
surfaces) so as to be able to see, hear, and / or touch each other.139, 140 Cosleeping arrangements can include bed -
sharing or
sleeping in the same room in close proximity.140, 141 Bed -
sharing refers to a specific type of cosleeping when the infant is
sleeping on the same
surface with another person.140 Because the term cosleeping can be misconstrued and does not precisely describe
sleep arrangements, the AAP recommends use of the terms «room -
sharing» and «bed -
sharing.»
The AAP recommends the arrangement of room -
sharing without bed -
sharing, or having the infant
sleep in the parents» room but on a separate
sleep surface (crib or similar
surface) close to the parents» bed.
«Cosleeping» or bed
sharing means an infant and one or more other persons
sleeps together on any
surface, not necessarily a bed.
The recommendations described in this report include infants
sleeping on their back, using a firm
sleep surface, to breastfeed, room -
sharing without bed -
sharing, routine immunizations, consideration of a pacifier, and avoidance of soft bedding, overheating, and exposure to tobacco smoke, alcohol, and illicit drugs.
Bedding use was also frequently reported among infants
sleeping in adult beds, on their sides, and on a
shared surface.