The Baby Friendly Initiative | Research | Bed-sharing and infant sleep

News and Research

For more information on this area of research, we recommend looking at the website of the Parent-Infant Sleep Lab at Durham University.

Does sidecar crib use affect breastfeeding duration? A randomised trial of 1,204 pregnant women intending to breastfeed was carried out at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle to determine whether the use of sidecar cribs on the postnatal wards affected breastfeeding duration.
Relationship between bed sharing and breastfeeding This study investigates the longitudinal patterns of bed sharing, the characteristics associated with those patterns, and the relationship with breastfeeding using an established longitudinal cohort of parents and their children monitored from birth in Avon, England, since 1991.
Breastfeeding & bed sharing, Blair 2004, Baddock 2004 It is common for babies to share a bed with their parents and breastfeeding is strongly associated with bed-sharing. Bed-sharing babies experience warmer temperatures than cot-sleeping infants, but are able to maintain normal temperature.
Breastfeeding & co-sleeping, Quillin 2004 A study of 33 mothers and their 4 week old babies has concluded that breastfeeding mothers get more sleep when they co-sleep with their babies.
Bed sharing & breastfeeding, Ball 2003 A recent study has shown that bed sharing is associated with longer breastfeeding and calls for parents to be given clear information about the risks and benefits.
Breastfeeding & co-sleeping, Hooker 2001 An anthropological investigation in the north-east of England found that 65% of parents practiced co-sleeping with their infants, finding it a convenient care strategy. Breastfeeding was significantly associated with co-sleeping.
Breastfeeding & bed-sharing, Ball 1999
Bed sharing leads to more breastfeeding and may protect against SIDS The effect of mother-infant bed-sharing on nocturnal breastfeeding behaviour was studied in 20 routinely bed-sharing and 15 routinely solitary sleeping mother-infant pairs when the infants were 3 to 4 months old.

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