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The AAP recently suggested that bedsharing should never occur with infants under 4 months of age, leaving many breastfeeding families wondering what they should do for sleep. I look at the evidence for this recommendation to see if it holds up.
It seems that messages on bedsharing differ depending on where you are. If everyone is looking at the same evidence, why are they coming to different conclusions? A look at the research suggests not everyone is looking at it the same way...
Is it fair to have a blanket statement that formula feeding families cannot bedshare? Do the benefits of bedsharing require us to consider a more nuanced message? What does the research tell us?
Some have suggested that bedsharing and breastfeeding inherently go hand-in-hand. Some suggest it's simply a great tool for breastfeeding families. Two pieces of research attempt to examine this and I take a close look at both to determine what we can take home.
Bedsharing beyond infancy is something that is often looked down upon in our society, with fears of dependent, clingy children being the focus. But what do science, history, and other cultures tell us? Is this fear grounded or simply just that - fear?
An overview of the research on the supposed link between increased SIDS risk and co-sleeping. Warning that there doesn't seem to be much to it, but there are some real considerations that need to be taken into account.
One article suggests a possible link between persistent bedsharing and worse mental health outcomes for children. Does it really say that? What does this data tell us and should parents be concerned? (Hint: no concern needed.)
A study in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics has made rounds recently with a bold claim that bedsharing actually harms infant sleep at 18 months by doubling the risk of “sleep problems”.
A new study claims that bedsharing is risky for infants aged 0-3 months, yet their data and analyses offer zero support for such a statement. What did they really look at and what does it really tell us?
We were luckily able to view a copy of the article in advance and the group of researchers I have worked with on other posts and I wrote a response. This is it. It has been shared as a press release generally and given specifically to the BBC (the study is a UK one). We shall see how the media responds in the days to come, but it's nice to know that at least we're not one step behind this time!
