All About Co-Sleeping & The
Family Bed
Co-Sleeping can be defined as sleeping in close proximity to your infant, whereas
bedsharing , known also as the family bed is more specifically, sleeping
next to your baby in the same bed . Sleeping next to your baby will be
one of the most rewarding and enjoyable experiences you will share with
your little one. There is nothing quite as precious as those warm little
hands and feet reaching out to touch you. Those smiling eyes looking up
at you and most of all that feeling of security you have knowing you are
there for your baby, even in the wee hours of the night. Much research
has been done, papers have been written and the proof is there. Co-Sleeping
is good for baby, good for parents (particularly Mom) and evidence supports
bedsharing as a factor in S.I.D.S prevention . As with anything you do
involving your children there are safe and not so safe ways to go about
it. We wouldn't dream of letting our baby take a bath unattended, would
never let our baby play with chokable objects, so it only seems fitting
that there be general guidelines that parents need to follow in reference
to sleeping next to our children. Even if using a crib parents have safety
guidelines to follow. Please read our list of guidelines and do checkout
the websites we have listed. They have much information on co-sleeping.
Remember, your baby is only a baby for a very short time. Enjoy these years
that will pass more quickly than you can imagine.
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Never
leave an infant or toddler unattended on an adult
bed. Co-Sleeping or family bed sharing consists
of an adult & a
child. Babies can roll off of beds
(even when using a co-sleeping
device) can become
tangled in blankets, or otherwise
need the attention of an adult.
Babies aren't
born with instruction booklets,
but perhaps if they were, Rule
#1 would be NEVER
LEAVE CHILD UNATTENDED , when awake
or when sleeping. We simply can't
stress this enough.
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- Never sleep with your baby on a water bed or on a couch.
Water beds and couches are associated with suffocation of
babies.
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- Avoid pushing your bed against a wall. Baby
could also be lodged between the bed and wall causing suffocation.
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- Never let another sibling sleep next to your
baby. Children sleep deeply and may roll over on baby. Baby
is best placed next to Mom or Dad only.
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- Never sleep next to your baby if you are intoxicated
or have been using drugs, are taking medications, are overly
tired or in any other way feel that your ability to be aroused
could be affected.
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It is not recommended that you bed share if
you smoked during your pregnancy or are currently smoking.
(For your baby's sake and your own you should try and quit)
This has been associated with higher incidence of S.I.D.S.
If you still want to sleep near your baby at night, try one
of the bed side co-sleepers.
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- Use a firm mattress for bed sharing. Soft
mattresses can allow baby to accidentally roll over causing
suffocation.
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- Make sure all bedding fits snuggle on the
mattress. Fitted sheets that come loose could cover baby's
face.
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- Make sure mattress fits snuggly against head
and footboards. If there are any gaps baby could become lodged
between head or footboard and mattress and cause suffocation.
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- Keep comforters, pillows, and other bedding
away from baby's face to avoid suffocation.
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- Always place baby to sleep
on her back. This has been shown to reduce the risk of
S.I.D.S.
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- Avoid over dressing your baby. Overheating
is also associated with an increased risk of S.I.D.S.
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- Avoid strings or ties on night clothes or
blankets. These could cause strangulation. Be sure to remove
toys or other objects from bed before sleep time, to avoid
suffocation.
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- If you have long hair tie it in a pony tail
or braid it. Long hair could cause suffocation or strangulation.
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These cautions are taken from
a list compiled by the American Academy of Pediatrics and
other health care experts. |
The Research
The following is compiled from information written and researched by James
McKenna, Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Mother-Baby Behavior
Sleep Laboratory at the University of Notre Dame.
Research concludes, that
not only is it safe to sleep with your baby, IT IS UNSAFE
NOT TO . When done safely, co-sleeping or bedsharing
is an appropriate and healthy choice. The only true object
or entity around which the human infant was designed
to sleep is the Mother's body. It can be dangerous for
infants to sleep alone, whether on beds or in cribs,
but place a committed, breastfeeding mother alongside
her baby and the infants survival chances are actually
increased. At Humanity Infant and Herbal we fully believe
that the prevention of S.I.D.S . lies in the combination
of bedsharing and breastfeeding and it is our hope that
more parents are made aware of the dangers involved with
allowing infants to have solitary, unsupervised sleep.
Please read more of Mr .McKenna's valuable information
at the following link.
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