5 Benefits of Bed Sharing

With my first child, I became an accidental bed sharer during my first few weeks of breast feeding.  Even after I switched to exclusively pumping, bed sharing just felt right for me.  It worked for our family.

At first I felt guilty.  Bed sharing is bad, right?  Sleeping with your baby leads to suffocation and SIDS, right?

Not exactly.

Safe bed sharing does exist.  There are right and wrong ways, to do it.

And believe it or not, there are actual benefits linked to bed sharing.

All this good information is just buried beneath nay-sayers and Westerners who only support solitary sleep and see it as a child's first step toward independence.

Regardless of what you've heard, bed sharing does have it's benefits!

1. Breathing regulation.

Especially when baby sleeps on mom's torso, bed sharing helps with breathing regulation and breathing patterns!

Mom's own breathing helps regulate baby's.

2. Convenience when breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding is natural, right?  So, it must be easy, right?

Okay, well, if you've done it then you know the answer to that is not exactly, lady!

Breastfeeding can be challenging, but is something that many of us find important and strive to do for our children. Therefore, why not make it easier by having your baby sleep with you?  

Bed sharing moms tend to breastfeed twice as much as solitary sleeping moms throughout the night.

3. Babies grow faster and experience less stress

Less stress?  I know I like less stress, so I'm sure baby does too!

4. Bed sharing moms get more sleep.

Okay, so I bet you think I'm joking right?

Especially after I just dropped the bomb about feeding twice as much.

But it's true!

Bed sharing moms don't have to full rouse to feed their infants if they breast feed!

5.  Infants use energy more efficiently & maintain lower blood pressure & more!

Really?  YES, REALLY!

But wait...  There's more!

It also positively affects infant's body temperature, brain-cell connections, calorie absorption, heart rate and sleep-arousal patterns.

Are you a supporter of bed sharing?  Have you ever shared a sleeping space with your child?

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Image courtesy of GaborfromHungary on morgueFile.