How Effective Is Co Sleeping With Your New Baby And What Precautions To Be Taken While Co Sleeping?

Co sleeping or sharing a bed with your infant is not recommended in United States.

But studies have shown that co sleeping with a breastfeeding infant supports bonding and regulates the sleeping patterns of you and your baby.

Affect of co sleeping on your baby:

• Co sleeping plays a major role in helping you to become more responsive to your baby’s cues and gives needed rest for both of you.
• Co sleeping helps your baby to fall asleep more quickly especially during the first few months and when they wake up in the middle of the night.
• It also helps your baby to get more nighttime sleep without any disturbances.
• Co sleeping encourages physiological regulation. It may also help to prevent SIDS by preventing the infant from entering into deep sleep states.
• Your baby can get more care giving. Co sleeping with infants also gets more attention and protective care.
• There are some long term benefits for your baby due to co sleeping. Infants between birth and five years of age had significantly high self-esteem and experienced less guilt and anxiety.

Why some mothers choose co sleeping?

• Co sleeping encourages breastfeeding by making nighttime breastfeeding more convenient.
• It makes easier for a nursing mother to get her sleep cycle in sync with her baby.
• It helps to those parents who are separated from their babies during the day; it regains the closeness with their infant that they feel they missed.
• You can also choose different co sleeping ways. You can keep your baby in your bed all the time or you can set up a crib in your room and whenever your baby wakes then you can bring her to you.

Tips to be followed by mother for effective and safety co sleeping:

If you want to share your bed with your baby, make sure to follow these precautions:

• Make sure that your bed must be absolutely safe for your baby.
• Always place your baby on his/her back to reduce the risk of SIDS.
• Uncover your baby’s head while sleeping.
• Do not sleep with your baby if you are a smoker.
• Do not co sleep if you drink alcohol or taken any medications that make you sleepy.
• Co sleeping can be recommended only on beds, not on couches or recliners.
• Do not place your baby on his stomach.
• Bedding should be tight fitting to the mattress and the mattress should be tight fitting to the headboard of the bed.
• You should not place any pillows or soft blankets near the baby’s face.
• There should not be any space between the bed and adjacent wall where the baby could roll and become fascinated.
• Do not co sleep if you are overweight. Overweight can cause sleep apnea in the mother.
• Don’t overheat your baby.
• If you choose co sleeping, avoid usage of perfumes, deodorants and hair sprays because they cause suffocation to your baby.
• Do not wear night cloths with strings and long ribbons and also don’t wear jewelry to bed.

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