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.
For the majority of human history, we have shared sleep with our infants which has led some researchers to speculate that this is related to the development of secure attachment, but this has yet to be studied... until now. The results may surprise some people.
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...
Does bedsharing with a 10-year-old of the opposite sex constitute abuse? Should it be the thought that we first have when we hear of such a situation?
With yet another "safe sleep" campaign that focuses on fear-mongering over education and real statistics, it's time we looked at what is going on and why these campaigns continue to not work.
Two new pieces of research highlight the intricate relationship between feeding method and sleep in infants, notably how parents perceive their child's sleep. Importantly, there are implications for the idea of building "bad habits" and sleep training.
A new video is making the rounds trying to convince people that bedsharing is dangerous using time-lapsed footage of someone sleeping. Warning: Your head may explode from the stupid in it!
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?
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?
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”.
