Co-sleeping

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The Benefits of Co-Sleeping With Your Child
Contact between a parent and infant child is of immense importance to the growth and development of the said child. Many scholars and commentators on this subject have opined that such contact ought to be maintained both during the day and night, and this is the rationale behind the idea of co-sleeping; which is the practice of sleeping near one’s child. Perhaps one of the most prevalent benefits was well elucidated by Lee T. Gettler and James J. McKenna. In their research entitled The Science Of Sharing Sleep; they stated that, ‘when resting on their mothers’ torsos, both premature and full-term infants breathe more regularly, use energy more efficiently, maintain lower blood pressure, grow faster, and experience less stress.’ (Lee at al. 4)This is of great benefit to the child’s overall well-being seeing as it is from this contact that their bodies function at the optimum best.
The benefits that accrue to the parents who opt for co-sleeping have also been highlighted. This is especially with regards to the relationship that then blossoms between parent and child. This was the opinion fostered in a paper entitled The Relationship Between Cosleeping And Self-Regulation In Early Childhood whereby the author, Bie-Shuein Chu opines that one of the most unequivocal benefits is that it ‘has a positive influence on parent-child intimacy’ which is just as crucial for any child as it is for the parent (Chu, 3). With an improved relationship between parents and their children comes a better environment for the growth and development of a child.

It is also noteworthy that the application of safe co-sleeping practices is highly beneficial to the child. This is especially with regards to breastfeeding patterns and the nutrients obtained. The position held by the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine Protocol Committee in ABM Clinical Protocol #6: Guideline on Co-Sleeping and Breastfeeding is very telling of this. More often than not, owing to the proximity between parents and their offspring in co-sleeping, the children subjected to co-sleeping tend to be afforded with more opportunities for breastfeeding than their counterparts who do not (Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine Protocol Committee, 38-43.).
Works Cited
Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine Protocol Committee. “ABM clinical protocol# 6: Guideline on co-sleeping and breastfeeding.” Breastfeeding Medicine 3.1 (2008): 38-43.
Chu, Bie-Shuein. “The relationship between co-sleeping and self-regulation in early childhood.” (2014).
T Gettler, Lee, and James J McKenna. “The Science of Sharing Sleep.” Mothering magazine, issue 152, January–February (2009): 2-11.