Where Should Baby Sleep?

Photo by Cia de FotoThe first thing that mothers think of when they are about to go home from the hospital is where their baby would sleep. Even if you have a nursery prepared with all the necessary equipments for your baby to sleep in, you still wonder if it would be safe and easier for your baby to sleep there. This dilemma comes especially if you have been rooming-in with your baby during your stay at the hospital.

A lot of controversy has been woven around where baby should sleep. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) both disagreed on babies sleeping in their parents beds. There is a danger of your baby getting suffocated by the pillows, mattress, and heavy beddings on your bed, and also by you and your partner. There is also the risk of your baby falling off the bed during restless sleep. You may have a bit of a problem sleeping when your baby is sleeping next to you. You will always have the desire to check whether she’s okay, if she’s wet, if she’s feeling hot or cold. Or you may have some trouble sleeping merely because of a new presence in the room. Your intimacy with your partner may be highly affected. No one can be intimate when there’s a baby that may wail any second. And later on, when it’s time for them to have her own room it would be hard for her to leave your side. She will still come back and sleep with you unless you do something about it.

But there are also other advantages of co-sleeping with your baby. James McKenna, Ph.D., director of the Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Laboratory at the University of Notre Dame firmly advocates the use of a co-sleeper. He has observed that mothers and babies sleeping together actually harmonize their sleep and waking patterns subconsciously. Mothers experience being awake a minute or two before the baby cries for food so they easily answer to their baby’s call compared to when the baby is sleeping in separate room. Stress levels during late night cries are lowered for babies cry less when their needs are met immediately. It’s also easier for mothers and babies to settle down afterwards for there is no need to travel to and from the nursery. A mother with a fussy baby that is difficult to put to sleep can really benefit from this arrangement. Co-sleeping will help working mothers bond with their baby. Babies will be familiarized with the scent and feel of their mothers that they have not seen the whole day.

Remember that where your baby sleeps is just like choosing between breast feeding and bottle-feeding: it’s a personal choice that is between you and your baby. Carefully weigh the advantages and disadvantages on where she would sleep. What’s important is both of you get the same amount and quality of sleep so both of you can enjoy each other perfectly.