Sleep with your baby
Co-sleeping with your baby can lead to better sleep because you don't have to get up every time the baby needs to be fed, comforted, or have their pacifier. The Danish Health Authority recommends that parents let the child sleep in the same room as them for at least the first 6 months. The child can be placed in their own bed, a bedside cot next to the parents' bed, or sleep with the parents in the bed.
Lactation consultant Sara Degn provides some good tips for safe co-sleeping.
Safe co-sleeping
- If the child is in their own bed, it can be placed next to the parents' bed. This is especially true if the child is sleeping in a bedside cot. In the child's bed, there should be nothing but a mattress and the child's duvet. Stuffed animals, blankets, pillows, and other items should be put away.
- If the child is sleeping in the parents' bed, the child should have the same amount of space around them as if they were sleeping in their own bed.
- The child should not be placed between the parents. Inform your partner that the child is co-sleeping with you in the bed. Some families choose to separate entirely for a period.
- Siblings and pets are not recommended to sleep in the bed if the baby is also sleeping there.
- Ensure that your baby cannot fall between the bed and the wall, or the bed and baby beds.
- Never let the child sleep in your bed unsupervised. The child can roll out of bed. You can, for a period, remove the legs from your bed so that the bed is on the floor, and there is not as far to fall to the floor if the child should fall out of bed.
Also read the article "How to help your child sleep"
When the child sleeps in the same bed
- Place the child on their back to sleep.
- Do not place your duvet over your child. Your child can quickly get too warm if you share a duvet.
- Your bed should not be too soft, and therefore not a waterbed.
- It is okay for the mother to let the child fall asleep on top of her after breastfeeding or bottle-feeding. Here it is important that the mother has good support for her back and under both arms. The child's head should be higher than the child's bottom. If the child falls asleep on top of the mother, you should be aware that the child is not wearing too much clothing. When mother and child take a contact nap together, they warm each other, so the child should be lightly dressed, and the mother should not wear clothes with straps or anything else that could be a suffocation hazard for the child.
NB. Not everyone feels safe doing this. But it is natural for a mother to fall asleep while breastfeeding. When she wakes up again, she can move the child and let it sleep next to her, on its back.
- It is okay for the mother to fall asleep while breastfeeding lying down. The child may also fall asleep, and if the child falls asleep before the mother, the mother can move the child and let it roll onto its back.
Co-sleeping is not recommended if
- Parents are taking strong sleeping medication.
- Parents have taken recreational drugs.
- Parents have consumed alcohol.
- Parents smoke.
- Parents are VERY tired.
- Parents have a high BMI.
Why co-sleep?
- Good way for closeness and bonding.
- Co-sleeping is very natural and is widely practiced in other countries.
- Co-sleeping is definitely not for everyone, and it's perfectly fine if you don't co-sleep.
- When co-sleeping no longer works, there can be several reasons, such as parents feeling they wake the child at night and vice versa.
- NB. You should never do anything you are unsure about, or anything you don't think is safe enough.
Also read the article "Breastfeeding - Signs that your baby is hungry"
Benefits of letting baby sleep in the same bed
- Baby and mother lie close together at night.
- It is easy for the mother to breastfeed the child when they lie close.
- A study has shown that a child who lies close to their mother has more stable breathing, temperature, and heart rate.
- Another study has shown that children who sleep close to their mother breastfeed for a longer period.
Co-sleeping can work very well for some families, and for some, it doesn't. You should do what works for you in your family. We are not all the same, and some children have different needs, and that's perfectly okay.