Breastfeeding & Safe Sleeping

We all know that keeping our babies close to us at night and within arm's reach, helps to facilitate more successful breastfeeding, and more rest for the family. Even the American Academy of Pediatrics states in the 2012 Section on Breastfeeding, "Mother and infant should sleep in proximity to each other to facilitate breastfeeding" (Pediatrics, 2/27/12) Everyone does what works for them, and I am here to respect your individual decisions and your desire to breastfeed. And that may or may not include bedsharing or any form of co-sleeping. But either way, we need to be informed and given accurate information about safe sleeping practices for babies...

Has anyone ever told you not to bedshare with your baby? Well, they might have good intentions, but too often they are leaving out the most important information. How do we safely share sleep with our breastfed children, because many parents are doing it anyway.

Out of fear, or just listening to what authorities may have told them, many parents are avoiding sharing the bed and instead sleeping with their children in a chair, a recliner or a sofa, either intentionally or accidentally. Those are all high suffocation risks for the baby when used for sleeping. Some parents are accidentally falling asleep in bed with their babies, but they have not taken the precautions needed for making their bed a safe place to sleep with baby.

Plenty of parents are what you call, "closet" bedsharing, AND doing it unsafely. Mainly because no one told them how to safely bedshare. They may feel bad asking anyone about it, because they were "told" to not bedshare.

So we need to educate parents, and YOU, about safe places for babies to sleep, which may include a parent's bed.

This study, discusses this very thing and was done with the help of a brilliant woman, Kathleen Kendell-Tackett, a mother to two boys, a La Leche League Leader, an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, and a health phychologist. Mother-Infant Sleep Locations and Nighttime Feeding Behavior

Another great place for study and research regarding this topic, is, Dr James McKenna. He is the Director of the Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Lab at The Univeristy of Notre Dame.
Also his book, Safe Sleeping with your Baby; A Parents Guide to Co-Sleeping is full of great information as well.

Peaceful sleeping and breastfeeding to you!
Summer J Fridmann, IBCLC

7/3/2012