by Anne Eglash MD, IBCLC, FABM
A Mama – your sister, cousin, client, patient, or bff calls you, doggone tired after nursing her 2-month old baby every 2-3 hours during the last few nights. She confides in you that she has been cuddling with her baby in bed and falling asleep while nursing, rather than placing the baby back into the crib between feedings. What is safe advice for her?
Four spectacular authors, Diane Wiessinger, Diana West, Linda J Smith, and Teresa Pitman reviewed all available research and published a La Leche League International book in 2014 about sleeping and breastfeeding called Sweet Sleep: Nighttime and Naptime Strategies for the Breastfeeding Family.
Research demonstrates that mothers are at risk of falling asleep in a chair or couch if they get up out of bed to feed their babies. Sleeping with babies on couches or chairs is associated with a higher risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or suffocation, so staying in bed may be a safer option. According to the authors, 60-75% of new breastfeeding mothers bedshare to some extent, even if they didn’t plan to. And the good news is that bedsharing can be safe if a set of safe criteria are met, which the authors have named ‘The Safe Sleep Seven’.
What is the one piece of advice that you would NOT want to tell your Mama about safely breastfeeding and sleeping in her bed (ie which is not one of the Safe Sleep Seven)?
- The baby should be kept on his back
- The baby is healthy and full term
- Mother and partner are free from smoking, alcohol use and drug use.
- It is not safe to breastfeeding and sleep in the same bed until the baby is 4 months old
- Mother and baby are breastfeeding
- The baby is lightly dressed
See the Answer
Milk Mob Comment by Anne Eglash MD, IBCLC, FABM
In the early 2000’s a book was written called The Family Bed by Vicky Lansky. This was a marvelous reference for breastfeeding supporters to share in order to advocate for families who chose to sleep with their breastfeeding babies. In the last several years, epidemiologists in the USA have associated co-bedding with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), and this research has led to several public health campaigns associating co-bedding with infant death. The problem is that the public health campaigns typically do not separate out who is safe to breastfeeding and co-bed at night with their infants, and who is not. The message has been that having the baby in the parents’ bed is unsafe, no matter what. The good news is that this book Sweet Sleep: Nighttime and Naptime Strategies for the Breastfeeding Family is an evidence-based resource that supports and educates families on safe breastfeeding and sleep practices at night. And the really, really good news is that, based on research, a mama who is tired, and wants to nurse her baby in bed at night ought to be supported in doing so, by providing the education that she needs to do this safely.