Cosleeping is the practice of sleeping with your offspring, or allowing your child sleep in bed with an older sibling or a caregiver. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has warned parents that it is dangerous for any child under 2 years old to cosleep. Some parents choose to ignore warnings about the dangers of cosleeping and do it anyway. I confess that I am a cosleeper and have been for 26 years. It all started when my first son was born in 1983 and I decided to breastfeed. Being a 20 year old mother I still loved to sleep. Breastfeeding made taking care of a baby during the night easier and I would always fall back to sleep while he nursed. Fortunately, once I fall asleep I do change positions or move at all, so I have never worried about rolling over on a baby. When we started fostering children 15 years ago, strict rules prevented cosleeping and breastfeeding. Over the years and dozens of infants later I have learned some tricks that make bottle-feeding a little easier but it will never be as convenient. I have found though that cosleeping can really help the bonding process between adoptive parent and child.

The Nemours Foundation  and The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warn not to cosleep with a child under two after consuming alcohol or drugs. They also warn smokers not to cosleep because breathing in the residual smoke from clothing may increase risk of sudden infant death syndrome. Further they warn not to let toddlers sleep with infants as they may roll over on the baby. I have a toddler who loves to sleep with me. When I end up with both the toddler and the baby in my bed I cradle each one in opposite arms. Discuss concerns about cosleeping with your child's pediatrician.

Supporters believe that cosleeping encourages breastfeeding by making nighttime breastfeeding more convenient. (How I started out.) Cosleeping makes it easier for baby and mother to get their sleep cycles in sync. It helps babies fall asleep more easily, and sleep longer especially during their first few months of life when babies wake up frequently during the night. It helps parents regain closeness with their infant that they feel they missed while working during the day. Or, in our case, to encourage the parent child bond after adoptive placement.

“A parent must decide if the risks of cosleeping outweigh the benefits? The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warns parents not to place their infants to sleep in adult beds, stating that the practice puts babies at risk of suffocation and strangulation. And the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) agrees.” While it is practiced in other cultures regularly, American bedding materials and thick soft mattresses make sleeping in adult beds more dangerous for infants in America. The CPSC says that during a seven year period 515 deaths of infants and toddlers under the age of two years occurred from sleeping in adult beds. Of those deaths, 121 were caused by someone rolling on baby. About 400 of those who died were under 3 months old.

Photo Credit: Julia Fuller