Co-Sleeping with Your Baby: Pros, Cons, and What Parents Should Know
Co-sleeping is a common practice in many families and cultures around the world. For some parents, sharing sleep with their baby feels practical or comforting, particularly during the early months. For others, it raises concerns about safety, sleep quality, and long-term habits.
Understanding the potential benefits and risks of co-sleeping can help parents make informed decisions that suit their baby, their family, and their circumstances.
- Co-sleeping is common, but practices vary widely between families and cultures.
- Possible benefits include easier night feeding and quicker soothing for some families.
- Potential downsides include disrupted parent sleep and difficult sleep transitions for some children.
- Research does not show clear emotional advantages of co-sleeping over separate sleep.
- Safety depends heavily on the sleep environment and parental risk factors.
Choosing the best option for your family
Co-sleeping, sometimes referred to as the 'family bed', is the act of having your child in your bed with you during sleep. Surveys show that 25 to 30 percent of American parents routinely let their children sleep with them, either for part or all of the night.
Co-sleeping is promoted by many individual health professionals, advocates of 'Attachment Parenting' and breastfeeding groups around the world, as a means of enhancing emotional attachment. On the other hand, co-sleeping is also actively discouraged by many individual health professionals and some health care authorities (groups as opposed to individuals), due to safety concerns.
Below describes some of the many comments often made in support and in opposition of co-sleeping. As with many parenting issues there are advantages and disadvantages related to co-sleeping. Deciding whether to co-sleep or not is a matter of personal choice. Only you can decide the best option for your child and your family.
No sleep arrangement is 100% safe for a child. Whichever alternative you choose it's recommended that you follow relevant sleep safety recommendations to make the environment as safe as possible for your child.
In support of co-sleeping
Cultural and emotional factors
Co-sleeping is a common practice in many cultures and is estimated to involve around two-thirds of the world’s population. Many parents believe that sharing sleep enhances emotional closeness and attachment between parent and child. Some parents who are separated from their child during the day feel that co-sleeping helps restore that sense of connection.
Breastfeeding and nighttime care
Co-sleeping can make nighttime breastfeeding more convenient and may support breastfeeding frequency. Studies suggest that mothers who co-sleep often have sleep patterns that become more synchronized with their infant’s sleep. Co-sleeping mothers may awaken before their baby begins to cry, allowing feeding to occur with less disruption. Research has shown that co-sleeping infants may nurse more frequently than infants who sleep separately. Increased nighttime breastfeeding is also associated with higher prolactin levels, the hormone responsible for milk production.
Infant regulation and sleep patterns
The close presence of a parent may help an infant’s immature nervous system regulate during sleep. Sleeping near a familiar caregiver may smooth transitions between sleep states and reduce nighttime anxiety. Some parents report that children who co-sleep experience fewer nightmares and nighttime disturbances.
Parental sleep and reassurance
Some parents find they sleep better when co-sleeping because they are not lying awake worrying about their child. The proximity of their baby can provide reassurance and allow parents to respond quickly to nighttime needs.
Physiological considerations
It has been suggested that co-sleeping may help prevent excessively deep sleep states in infants. Some researchers theorize that a parent’s breathing patterns may influence an infant’s breathing regulation, although this remains an area of ongoing discussion and research.
Safety context
While safety risks associated with co-sleeping are well recognized, it is also important to acknowledge that no sleep arrangement is entirely without risk, including separate sleep in a crib or bed.
In opposition to co-sleeping
Cultural context and choice
Although co-sleeping is common in many cultures worldwide, its prevalence is influenced by a range of social, economic, and environmental factors. In some settings, shared sleep may reflect limited space or resources rather than a deliberate parenting choice, making direct comparisons between cultures difficult.
Emotional and psychological outcomes
Claims that co-sleeping provides superior emotional or psychological outcomes for children have not been clearly demonstrated in research. Studies have not shown consistent evidence that co-sleeping results in stronger or weaker emotional attachment compared to separate sleep arrangements when other aspects of caregiving are taken into account.
Nighttime feeding and sleep associations
While increased nighttime feeding is viewed by some parents as beneficial, others question whether feeding to sleep during the night may extend beyond the age at which overnight feeding serves a nutritional purpose. Opinions differ among health professionals, and practices vary widely between families.
Sleep dependency concerns
Some parents report that co-sleeping contributes to sleep behaviors they experience as highly dependent, with children requiring significant parental involvement to fall asleep or return to sleep during the night. These patterns may also extend to daytime sleep in some children, although experiences vary.
Impact on parental sleep
Research suggests that co-sleeping does not consistently improve parental sleep quality. Some parents report lighter or more fragmented sleep due to concerns about safety, frequent night waking, or the movement of an older child during the night. Differences in adult and infant sleep needs may contribute to parental fatigue over time.
Differences in adult and infant sleep cycles
Adult and infant sleep architecture differs substantially. Adults typically spend a greater proportion of sleep in non-REM sleep, with longer sleep cycles, while infants experience shorter sleep cycles and more frequent arousals. Synchronizing infant and adult sleep patterns may not always support adequate restorative sleep for parents.
Transitioning out of co-sleeping
Children who co-sleep often transition out of the family bed during the preschool years, although the timing varies widely. When parents wish to change sleep arrangements before a child is ready, the transition to independent sleep may be challenging and stressful for some families.
Safety and SIDS considerations
The relationship between co-sleeping and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) remains complex. Current guidance from organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics indicates that there is no evidence that co-sleeping reduces SIDS risk. Some studies suggest that bed-sharing, particularly in the presence of risk factors such as parental smoking, alcohol use, or unsafe sleep surfaces, may increase the risk of sleep-related infant deaths.
Adult beds and injury risk
Safety agencies, including the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), warn that adult beds are not designed for infant sleep. Evidence indicates that adult mattresses, bedding, and bed structures can increase the risk of suffocation, entrapment, or strangulation in infants, particularly in younger babies.
What this means for your family
Co-sleeping is neither inherently right nor wrong. Like many parenting decisions, it involves weighing potential benefits against possible risks, while considering your baby’s needs, your family circumstances, and your own wellbeing. What works well for one family may not work for another.
If you choose to co-sleep, understanding the associated risks and following current sleep safety recommendations is essential. If you decide that separate sleep is a better fit, there are many ways to support your baby’s sleep while maintaining closeness and responsiveness.
The most important goal is not a specific sleep arrangement, but ensuring that your baby is safe and that your family is getting the rest and support it needs.
Written by Rowena Bennett.
A practical guide to infant sleep, including support for bed-sharing and strategies for encouraging independent sleep when families are ready.
About Rowena
Rowena Bennett (RN, RM, CHN, MHN, IBCLC) is a leading infant-feeding and sleep specialist and author of several books on infant feeding, sleep and behaviour, including the widely acclaimed “Your Baby’s Bottle-Feeding Aversion: Reasons & Solutions" and "Your Sleepless Baby: The Rescue Guide". With over three decades of clinical experience across child health, midwifery, mental health, and lactation, she has helped thousands of families worldwide understand and resolve complex feeding challenges through her evidence-based, baby-led approaches.