Is bed-sharing good for your baby?

Health Psychology Child Care General Topics

Co-sleeping is sleeping with somebody. Some examples like sleeping with friends, brothers, spouse, and parents. When it comes to sleep with a baby either one or both the parents sleep with him. There are many advantages and disadvantages of sleeping with a baby which are discussed here.

Advantages

Co-sleeping improves sleep time for both the baby and the mother.
Studies indicate that infants are at a lower risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) when they sleep in the same room with their parents.
Co-sleeping reduces bedtime hassles.
Your little one feels more secure and warm beside you.
It minimizes the probability of nighttime separation anxiety.
Breastfeeding during night time becomes easier.
Co-sleeping enables comfortable nursing as the sleep pattern of both the baby and the mother syncs.
A cranky child can sleep better at night.
Your infant baby can fall asleep soon.
It will be a wonderful feeling to wake up the next morning to an adorable and smiling baby.
Co-sleeping helps you to monitor your child well during illnesses.
Babies go through different feelings such as the smell of a mother, her warm touch, her movement, and much more that would help in their overall behavioral development.
You develop an emotional attachment with your baby.
It helps working moms to spend more time with their little bundle of joy.
There are minimal chances of the babies falling from the bed.

Co-sleeping offers a great and safer environment for babies, helping them develop self-confidence. Not only the new moms but also the fathers will enjoy sleep-sharing with their child, as it leads to a great bonding time.

Disadvantages

Some parents avoid sleep-sharing due to some potential risks.

Your infant can get suffocated due to the lack of space.
Sleep-sharing can promote not-so-healthy dependency on parents.
The sudden or constant movement of your child disturbs your sleep pattern as well.
It can be risky if parents are suffering from any infectious or contagious disease.
Co-sleeping should be avoided if you are on any heavy medication or therapy.
If you smoke or drink alcohol, then co-sleeping is known to pose many health hazards.
Unfortunate situations like divorce, separation, or death of any parent could leave the baby in a deeply disturbing situation.
The couple may be deprived of intimacy.