Does Bed Sharing with an Infant Influence Parents’ Sexual Life? A Scoping Review in Western Countries

Eleni Vousoura,Chryssa Ekizoglou

doi:10.3390/sexes2040032

Eleni Vousoura, Chryssa Ekizoglou

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/sexes2040032

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Abstract

Bed sharing—the sharing of a sleeping surface by parents and children—is a common, yet controversial, practice. While most research has focused on the public health aspect of this practice, much less is known regarding its effect on the marital relationship. The aim of the present study was to conduct a scoping review on the impact of parent–infant bed sharing sleeping practices on the sexual and marital relationship of couples. The qualitative synthesis of six studies on this topic suggests that overall, bed sharing does not exert a significant negative impact on family functioning; when it does, it appears to be related to incongruent parental beliefs and expectations, especially when bed sharing is not an intentional choice of sleep arrangement, and there are other confounding factors such as fatigue and psychological distress. Suggestions for future studies and clinical implications are discussed.

Highlights

Influence Parents’ Sexual Life? ABed sharing—the sharing of a sleeping surface by parents and children—has been a common sleeping strategy throughout human evolution [1,2], offering the mother–infant dyad a sense of security and facilitating breastfeeding on demand [3]
Ample evidence suggests that bed sharing is a highly common practice among parents in non-Western contexts [7,8,9], and while it is practiced less in Western countries, there is a well-documented increase in bed-sharing practices over the recent decades in traditionally non-bed-sharing countries [10], possibly reflecting a change of social attitudes regarding the importance of parent–infant contact and breastfeeding
All studies defined bed sharing as the sharing of sleep surface between parents/parent and infant

Summary

Introduction

A. Bed sharing—the sharing of a sleeping surface by parents and children—has been a common sleeping strategy throughout human evolution [1,2], offering the mother–infant dyad a sense of security and facilitating breastfeeding on demand [3]. Ample evidence suggests that bed sharing is a highly common practice among parents in non-Western contexts [7,8,9], and while it is practiced less in Western countries, there is a well-documented increase in bed-sharing practices over the recent decades in traditionally non-bed-sharing countries [10], possibly reflecting a change of social attitudes regarding the importance of parent–infant contact and breastfeeding. Bed sharing is a common choice among breastfeeding mothers, as it facilitates frequent and on-demand feedings [3,13,14]. The centrality of bed sharing in facilitating breastfeeding through skin-to-skin contact and frequent awakening throughout the night has been strongly argued by McKenna and Gettler (2016) who coined the term “breastsleeping”

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