
Bed Sharing Is A Risk Many Families Take Out Of Necessity
In this instance, we are calling bed sharing a “risk” because, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the safest sleep practices are, in summary: placing a child in crib to sleep on their back; no pillows, blankets or loose items in sleep space; no other people in sleep space; breastfed if possible; and no smoking. And to clarify, we are not recommending that you disregard this highly researched advice. However, it would be doing a disservice to “co-sleeping” parents to ignore the reality they face. When I found out I was pregnant, I had a plan. A plan to follow all of the safest guidelines by the AAP. So I was distraught to find myself four months into parenthood with no sleep and no support for me or my partner. I began to discover that despite all of the tricks in the book, my child would not sleep in her crib or bassinet. After tears and research and speaking to the pediatrician, I realized I would have to take the risk of bed sharing to help survive parenthood. If you are going to take this route, make sure you follow the Safe Sleep Seven to try and mitigate some of the risks.