Pros And Cons Of Cosleeping

The concept of cosleeping has quickly become a controversial topic, debated by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and professionals from all different fields of academia. As many papers on this subject state, cosleeping is a controversial topic that is rooted many different aspects of life, making it nearly impossible to designate a “yes” or “no” answer to if one should cosleep. While studies have shown an association between Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and cosleeping, there is no “one size fits all” approach; whichever method parents choose is influenced by factors such as family history, socioeconomic status, societal views, and what is best for family functioning. Although cosleeping may have a negative connotation for its …show more content…
Generally, mothers who bedshare report higher stress levels, longer, deeper bouts of sleep, and more frequent arousals (McKenna & McDade 2005, 135). However, many of these reports pertain to persistently cosleeping mothers, rather than mothers who stopped cosleeping by six months of infant age (Teti et al 2017, 14). These negative aspects of cosleeping may affect a mother’s choice to continue cosleeping, yet they may also have beneficial outcomes. Frequent arousals have been associated with heightened sensitivity; this might increase the chance that mothers could more quickly detect and intervene against a life-threatening event while cosleeping with their child. Not only does cosleeping provide mothers with a heightened sensitivity to their offspring, it allows for a source of bonding time and increased emotional connection with the infant. Since many parents spend time during the day away from their child, cosleeping provides an opportunity for emotional benefit; some parents describe feelings of closeness, comfort, and pleasure when bedsharing with their infant (Baddock et al 2006, 1604). Cosleeping also creates an easier setting for breastfeeding. Since breastfeeding is physiologically and behaviorally entwined and interdependent with forms of cosleeping, McKenna and Gettler suggest the use of their term, breastsleeping. This acknowledges (i) the …show more content…
One primary benefit of bedsharing for the infant is the ease of breastfeeding. Not only does the mother profit from breastsleeping, the infant has easier access, allowing for more frequent feeding bouts with less time between each feed (Gettler & McKenna 2011, 457). This type of feeding better aligns with the typical composition of human breast milk - high in water and sugar content and low in fat. Studies have also found that infants with a history of bedsharing reported lower cortisol reactivity as well as the emergence of a relationship between breastfeeding and cortisol recovery. Infants who cosleep and breastfeed during their first six months are associated with higher cortisol regulation at one year of age; more weeks of cosleeping were associated with lower cortisol reactivity while more weeks of breastfeeding predicted faster cortisol recovery (Beijers, Risken-Walraven, & De Weerth 2012, 268-273). Bedsharing also comes with increased parental checks on the infant. Both visual and physical checks were found to be significantly higher among bedsharing families, as opposed to cot sleeping infants (Baddock et al 2006, 1602-1603). If practiced for too long or in a risky manner, bedsharing can be detrimental. It has been associated with infant and child sleep problems, including nighttime crying, frequent night waking, nightmares, and less sleep overall (Madansky &