Is Co-Sleeping A Safe Option For Newborns?

Raising kids can be a touchy subject to discuss. Every parent has their own philosophy in raising children.

Some of you can be more lenient while other parents can be strict.

As soon as your baby returns from hospital, you’ll start making choices based on your belief and values.

In the similar way, some of you can be totally against co-sleeping, while others consider it as a part of attachment parenting.

However, there are two sides to this particular co-sleeping issue. You can have benefits such as healthy form of parent-child relationship from safe co-sleeping.

But, for some families, co-sleeping can prove inconvenient and also dangerous, at times.

Is co-sleeping safe?

Despite of possible benefits, the U.S. Consumer product safety commission warns parents not to encourage co-sleeping in their children and it is not recommended to place the newborns to sleep in adult beds.

This sort of co-sleeping practice can put your child at risk of suffocation and strangulation. Even, the American Academy of pediatrics agrees with it.

However, in many non-western cultures, co-sleeping is wide spread practice. It is believed that the differences in mattresses, bedding and other sleeping and cultural practices may account to lower the risks involved with co-sleeping.

Is it possible to make co-sleeping a safe practice?

Especially for newborns and their breast feeding mothers, it facilitates night time breast feeding. It also helps both mother and her newborn to get enough sleep. So, if you choose to share your bed with your baby, make co-sleeping as safe as possible with these necessary precautions.

1. Always place your baby on his\her back to sleep. This can reduce the risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) for your baby.
2. Always ensure that you leave your baby’s head uncovered while sleeping.
3. Be sure that the mattress on your bed fits securely into the bed frame. This can prevent your baby to become trapped in between frame and mattress.
4. Don’t place your bed near draperies or blinds where your child could be strangled by the cords.

Consider all these measures when you are sharing your bed with your baby. Take necessary suggestions from your personal physician or your baby’s doctor for making sleep comfortable for your baby.