Infant Bed-sharing Research Articles

Trends in infant bed sharing in the United States, 1993-2000: the National Infant Sleep Position study.

Bed sharing with parents has been described as both beneficial to infant well-being and as a potentially lethal situation. To examine trends in bed sharing between infants and caregivers, and the factors that influence this behavior. Annual nationally representative telephone surveys conducted between 1993 and 2000. The 48 contiguous United States. Nighttime caregivers of infants born within 7 months prior to interview between 1993 and 2000. Approximately 1000 interviews were conducted each year for a total sample of 8453 nighttime caregivers. Where and with whom the infant usually slept at night in the preceding 2 weeks. Forty-five percent of infants spent at least some time at night on an adult bed in the last 2 weeks. Between 1993 and 2000, the proportion of infants usually sharing an adult bed at night increased from 5.5% to 12.8%. More than 90% of infants who "usually" slept on an adult bed shared it with their parents. In a multivariate analysis, factors associated with increased probability of routine bed sharing included: maternal age less than 18 years (odds ratio [OR] = 2.26; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.22-4.21), maternal race or ethnicity reported as black (OR = 4.04; 95% CI, 3.04-5.36) or as Asian or "other" (OR = 2.72; 95% CI, 1.74-4.22), household income less than $20,000 (OR = 1.49; 95% CI, 1.15 = 1.92), living in the Southern states compared with living in the Midwest (OR, 1.59; 95% CI = 1.23, 2.06), and infant age less than 8 weeks (OR = 1.60; 95% CI, 1.10-2.33). Living in the Mid-Atlantic compared with the Midwest (OR = 0.63; 95% CI, 0.44-0.90), and being born with low birthweight and preterm (OR = 0.32; 95% CI, 0.14-0.74) were associated with decreased probability of routine bed sharing. Bed sharing as a routine practice is growing in the United States. Given that this practice seems to be widespread and strongly influenced by cultural factors, more studies of the consequences of bed sharing are needed to inform health care providers and parents on the risks and benefits.

Infant care practices in New Zealand: a cross-cultural qualitative study

This paper describes and compares the infant care practices and beliefs of Maori, Tongan, Samoan, Cook Islands, Niuean and Pakeha (European) caregivers residing in Auckland, New Zealand. Focusing on four areas — sources of support and advice; infant feeding; infant sleeping arrangements; and traditional practices and beliefs — it explores inter-ethnic similarities and differences and intra-ethnic tensions. The international literature indicates that there can be significant cultural variation in infant care practices and in the meanings attributed to them. There is, however, little New Zealand literature on this topic, despite its importance for effective health service and health message delivery. Participants were primary caregivers of infants under 12 months. An average of six focus groups were conducted within each ethnic group, resulting in a total of 37 groups comprising 150 participants. We found similarities across all ethnic groups in the perceived importance of breastfeeding and the difficulties experienced in establishing and maintaining this practice. The spectrum of behaviours ranged widely with differences most pronounced between Pacific caregivers, especially those Island-raised, and Pakeha caregivers, especially those in nuclear families. Amongst the former, norms included: the family as central in providing support and advice; infant bedsharing; abdominal rubbing during pregnancy; baby massage; and the importance of adhering to traditional protocols to ensure infant well-being. Amongst the latter, norms included: strong reliance on professional advice; looser family support networks; the infant sleeping in a cot; and adherence to Western biomedical understandings of health and illness. Maori caregivers bridged the spectrum created by these groups and exhibited a diverse range of practices. Intra-cultural differences were present in all groups indicating the dynamic nature of cultural practices. They were most evident between Pacific-raised and New Zealand-raised Pacific caregivers, with the latter attempting to marry traditional with Western beliefs and practices.

Increased infant axillary temperatures in non-REM sleep during mother-infant bed-sharing.

This study addressed the effect of mother-infant bed-sharing on infant body temperature and possible mediating mechanisms. Axillary temperatures were recorded for the entire night in 26 infants on both a bed-sharing night and a solitary sleeping night, accompanied by polysomnography and video-taping to allow assignment of sleep stages and behavioral analysis. All infants were approximately 3 months old, healthy, Latino and breast-feeding; 16 of the infants bed-shared since birth while the others routinely slept alone. Bed-sharing was associated with a significantly increased mean axillary temperature compared to solitary sleeping in both routine bed sharers and routine solitary sleepers. This increase was expressed only in non-REM sleep, with no differences during REM sleep or waking. The increase in temperature during bed-sharing may be related to an increased frequency of transient, movement-associated arousals during bed-sharing.