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Why co-sleeping can be harmful to your baby

by Staff Bona
picture: pexels

It can sometimes be quite a challenge to resist the urge to have your bundle of joy sleeping next to you. While this closeness may bring warmth to the heart, it can also be a danger for your little one.

What is co-sleeping?

Parenting-focused publication The Bump explains that while co-sleeping is often thought to be synonymous with bed-sharing, it also means putting your baby to sleep in the same room as you but in a separate bed. Health-based publication WebMD lists a few reasons why parents may choose to co-sleep with their child:

  • Easier to breastfeed their child at night.
  • May help the baby fall back to sleep faster.
  • May help the mother to sync sleep cycles with her baby.

The above may seem convenient, however, co-sleeping is not recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Picture: Pexels

The potential risks

WebMD states that sleeping with a newborn heightens the risk of entrapment, smothering, suffocation, strangulation, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), sleep issues, and delayed development of your infant’s independence. Regarding a toddler sleeping in the same bed as their parent(s), it is possible for the following to occur:

  • The parent can roll over their baby and cause injury during deep sleep.
  • The toddler can get trapped between the mattress, headboard, wall, or soft bedding which could lead to death by suffocation.

Verywell Family, a publication dedicated to family life, also shares a few drawbacks of the practice:

  • The baby might find co-sleeping as a ‘sleep crutch,’ meaning that they might have trouble falling asleep on their own without their parent’s presence.
  • It may require an earlier bedtime than the adults may prefer.
  • Parents may be uncomfortable having sex with their child in the room. This may impact the parental relationship.

Also see: Why it’s important to teach your child emotional intelligence

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