A Brief Note On The Act Of Cosleeping - 1303 Words

Cosleeping can be defined as an infant sharing the same sleeping quarters as his or her parents because of the parent’s personal preferences or cultural practices (SIDS, 2011; Mao, Burnham, Goodlin-Jones, Gaylor, Anders, 2004; Hayes, Fukumizu, Troese, Sallinen, Gilles, 2007). There is no universally accepted uniform definition for cosleeping so the act can be further broken down into subcategories depending on where the infant sleeps in relation to his or her parents: bed sharing means the infant sleeps in the bed or on the couch with the parents while room sharing means the infant sleeps in his or her own bed in the same room as the parents. Infants can be considered partial cosleepers if they only spend a certain amount of time†¦show more content†¦According to Horne et al. (2015) bed sharing occurs in 90 percent of the world’s population. In the United States and other western cultures cosleeping that involves bed sharing is highly frowned upon because of the high risk associated with sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and sudden unexpected infant death. Sudden infant death syndrome occurs when an infant under the age of one year dies from an unexplainable cause even after investigation and autopsy have been conducted, while sudden unexpected infant death refers to the unexpected death of an infant under the age of one year whether explained or unexplained (SIDS, 2011; Horne et al., 2015). According to the American Academy of Pediatrics infants should sleep in their own crib, bassinet, or portable crib without pillows, blankets, or soft surfaces. Parents should avoid feeding their children on couches and armchairs to reduce the risk of falling asleep here because the rate of SIDS is higher on these surfaces. Bed sharing is not only discouraged between parents and infants, but among infants that are multiples as well. Each infant should have his or her own bed. While bed sharing is frowned upon, room sharing is encouraged. The Americ an Academy of Pediatrics encourages room sharing claiming that the close proximity is good for breastfeeding and monitoring the baby