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Contrary to a long time attack against the practice, co-sleeping in fact has increasingly become universally popular and it is not difficult to understand why. Firstly, for breast feeding mothers, it is more convenient to move a little closer to feed the baby rather than getting up and walking all the way to the baby’s room.
Secondly, it is easier to check whether the baby is safe because you are closer to him. When the baby rolls and struggles to breathe, you have more chance of hearing it in your own bed than in his cot in the other room.
Thirdly, it provides a favorable environment for closer contact between parents and the child. Full-time working parents find it satisfying to touch and feel their baby’s presence beside them and consider it precious moments compensating the lost time during the day. The child may feel the same. If we put ourselves in the shoes of the baby, we would rather be closer to the person we love. Dr. William Sears, author of a number of books on parenting and a childcare expert on a web site advises that co-sleeping keeps babies happy and secure, strengthens family emotional bonds, and helps raise a confident and independent child.
Fourthly, co-sleeping provides beneficial sensory exchanges between parents and child. The heat, sound, smell, touches and movements induced by the parents help promote a favorable sleeping pattern for the baby necessary for his survival. James McKenna, Ph.D. a senior researcher of SIDS Project at the University of California Irvine School of Medicine currently believes that adults’ normal stimuli in the bed control the possibility of the baby falling into a deep stage of sleep from which some babies have difficulty in getting up.
Co-sleeping has been a natural practice of human beings like any other member of the animal kingdom for millions of years. How can this be suddenly dangerous to the child’s health such as the study conducted by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission in September, 2000 citing that from 1990 to 1997, there were 515 child deaths in adults' beds. Like any other researches in the field, the validity of the study was pedantically scrutinized. The studies against co-sleeping, however, tell that dangers are present. Co-sleeping in itself is safe but when associated with irresponsible adult habits, the practice can be fatally dangerous. Consider the suggestions below for a safer co-sleeping:
Never sleep with your baby when you are intoxicated. When you are under the influence of alcohol and prohibited drugs, there is no way you can respond to the needs of your baby and there is a high probability of you rolling over, strangling and suffocating, thus killing your own child.
Place your baby’s head at the same level as yours, whether he is in between you and your partner or he is at the far side of the bed. If he is at the same level as you, he will less likely be covered by sheets or quilt as you would less likely bring the sheets up to your face, thus decreasing the chance of suffocation.
Consider using two separate single sheets between you and your partner. Then use a third sheet or quilt for your baby. This will minimize the chance of him getting covered with sheets in your sleep.
Fence your baby with pillows on either side where he is endangered of getting rolled over by you or your partner. If he is on the far side of the bed, pillows will support him from falling off the bed.
Dr. Sears suggests try the Arm’s Reach Co-sleeper, a brick like infant bed that clings to the parents’ bed. He added: “avoid side rails, head boards and foot boards that have slats that could entrap baby’s head. Avoid putting your bed near curtains or blinds that have dangling strings that could strangle your baby.”
The baby you have decided to sleep next to is an individual who also longs to sleep closer with the most special people in his or her life. You are the parents who know best the safety of your own creation. You see the actual set-up of your place and you can judge the possible dangers your child has. The final action lies upon you.
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