As a follow on from our previous post on sleeping I thought we would take some time to look more closely at cosleeping. Recently cosleeping has been copping some very negative publicity based on a advertising campaign by the city of Milwaukee in the US.
The ads feature quite shocking images of babies sleeping with sharp objects with the intention to highlight the dangers of sleeping with your baby. It's unfortunate that the city of Milwaukee felt they needed to take such a blanket approach to the high infant mortality rates in the city. The facts are, bed sharing can be safe if done safely and bed sharing or cosleeping can have many benefits for both mum (and dad) and bub.
A study from Durham University cites some of the benefits of cosleeping including a more successful breastfeeding relationship and better sleep outcomes for the family. Pinky McKay's article of on cosleeping discusses the outcome of a study which finds that babies who coslept had higher self esteem in later life. I choose to cosleep because it just made sense. Why sit in a chair and breastfeed my new born or rock or cuddle when we could both lie down and get some sleep.
However it must be said that, like crossing the road, there are some dangers associated with cosleeping. But just like other things in life there are precautions that can be taken to make cosleeping a safe alternative for families.
Deciding to cosleep with your baby needs to be that - a decision, not an accident. Falling asleep on the lounge or in the bed with baby is not cosleeping - it's exhaustion and it isn't safe. If you decide to cosleep some preparation and education for you and your partner is important.
It is also important to point out that without getting into the breastfeeding vrs formula feeding debate, cosleeping with formula fed babies has been found to be less safe that cosleeping with breastfed babies; however it is believed that this discrepancy is most likely due to positioning in the bed. If you are formula/bottle feeding pay particular attention to the position of baby in bed. It is recommended by Dr James McKenna that bottle fed babies sleep on a separate surface to the parents such as a side car cosleeper.
Dr James J. McKenna, Ph.D. Professor of Biological Anthropology, Director, Mother-Baby Sleep Laboratory, University of Notre Dame shares some tips of safe cosleeping at the website "Safe Cosleeping Guidelines"
-You should never sleep with your baby if you or your partner are under the influence or any alcohol, drugs (prescription or otherwise) or anything else that may make you sleep more heavily than usual,
-Babaies should sleep in a smoke free environment,
-Babies need to be on a flat, clean, firm surface.
-Babies should be positioned at armpit or breast height
-Bed frames should sit firmly against the mattress and issues have been raised about solid bed rails and cosleeping aids which may allow baby to become wedged between the mattress and the item.
-Babies should sleep on their back,
-There should not be any stuffed animals, pillows, sheep skins etc. around the baby and the baby should never be placed on a pillow to sleep,
- Lounges, bean bags and even waterbeds or not safe places to sleep for infants either with an adult or alone,
-Baby should be dressed in the same number of layers as the parents and sleep under light blankets only (I personally found that together baby and I regulated each others body temps and particularly in a mild Australian winter - we usually kept each other warm enough under light blankets)
- Parents with long hair should tie it back,
- Obese parents or parents who feel they may not be able to sense where the baby is should consider if cosleeping is right for them,
-Babies under 1 year should not sleep with other children without adult supervision,
Dr McKenna also discusses the importance for both parents to be comfortable with cosleeping and to understand the risks. He encourages parents to discuss how they would feel if their baby died from SIDS in a cosleeping arrangement. For us, my partner agreed with cosleeping however he wasn't as comfortable with the baby being between us as he didn't feel he would wake up if he rolled onto the baby. Interestingly we both found we had a heightened awareness of where baby was, subconsciously and instinctively moving around baby without realising it, a phenomenon detailed in a presentation by the Australian Breastfeeding Association.
Studies have also suggested that safe cosleeping offers some protection against SIDS as the close contact helps regulate babies breathing, heart rate and temperature. Sleep studies have also recorded breastfeeding mothers checking on their babies subconsciously and even rousing when babies breathing becomes irregular.
No-one can tell you what is best for your family and particularly in these days or litigation, no-one is going to recommend you cosleep, however, for my family it was both natural and a sanity saver and is worth discussing and investigating whether or not it is right for your family.
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