Child with in bed: the advantages and disadvantages

Some find it cozy and nice to sleep in a bed with the baby. Others fear that they will spoil their little one or even expose it to unnecessary dangers. We collect the advantages and disadvantages of co-sleeping. Good night, sex? Good morning, family happiness?

Per

  • Breastfeeding: As a nursing mother, it is really comfortable at night to put on the child without having to get up. So there is no long wailing and everyone quickly falls asleep again.
  • Security: Due to the physical proximity, the breathing and sleeping sounds of the parents, most babies feel safe and they sleep more peacefully.
  • safety: The investigation by Durham University has shown that breastfeeding mothers adopt a posture facing their child at night: the knees are raised under the baby's feet, the upper arm is placed over the baby's head. As a result, the baby lies flat on the mattress and not on the mother's pillow, the mother's knees and arm form a barrier so that the baby cannot slide up or down and no one can accidentally lie on the baby. In addition, the mother constantly senses the child's breathing and temperature.

Contra

  • Overheating: There is a risk that the child will slip under the parents' blanket.
  • Restlessness: Some children sleep very restlessly and thus disturb their parents' sleep. The reverse can also apply.
  • Spoil: That's right, getting used to a single sleeper is not easy. It takes a lot of consistency for the little one to move into the nursery.
  • Smoke: Parents who smoke should not sleep in a bed with their child. They expose their child to the exhaled air that still contains nicotine and pollutants. And with a smoker in bed, the risk of sudden child death (SIDS) increases significantly.
  • drugs and alcohol: Parents do not react quickly and correctly to the baby under drugs, sedatives or alcohol.
  • Togetherness: The double bed is often the retreat for a couple. Who wants to have sex in front of the baby? But spontaneous sex in the kitchen pushes the relationship even more.

In general: Both parents should be satisfied with the solution found. Because if only one wants to have the baby so close, conflicts will soon arise.

Service: In the brochure of the "German Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine e.V." it is recommended to let the baby sleep in a sleeping bag on his back at a maximum of 19 degrees in the room.

This article originally appeared on Eltern.de.