Although there is one view that says co sleeping is a major contributing factor for SIDS, according to proponents of Attachment parenting this is not so, co sleeping is actually beneficial when practiced by informed parents. So what are the factors in favor of co sleeping?
- New research is beginning to demonstrate that the Cry it out (COI) method whereby parents hope that a baby will learn to self soothe is actually detrimental to the baby. This is said to increase production of the cortisol hormone in the baby’s brain
- The COI method could also, according to Attachment parenting theorists, have potential long term effects on behavior, sleep patterns and even emotional regulation
- Babies have needs at night, same as they have during the day. The baby may get lonely, hungry, cold, hot, they may be teething, they may have nightmares, they may even get fearful and having a parent close by is reassuring and comforting.
Attachment parenting recommends co sleeping, which is the infant sleeping close to the parents but on another sleep surface such as a bassinet or a sidecar pushed up against the parent’s bed.
It also acknowledges, for breast feeding families, the policy of bed sharing wherein the infant sleeps in the same bed as the parents. For more information about co sleeping, look here.
