Why should not a child sleep in the same room as their parents?

According to a new study by scientists, children should not sleep in the same room with their parents, starting at 6 months of age. However, these results are in contradiction with the recommendations that were adopted earlier.

The author of the study, Dr. Ayan Paul, believes that the longer you leave a child in your room, the worse results will be in terms of his sleep. Also in such a situation, there is a high probability that the child will sleep in the same bed with his mother, and this increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SADV). This was also stated by the author of the study, who is a professor of pediatrics and sciences in public health.

Recommendations

Last fall, the American Academy of Pediatrics updated its recommendations regarding the division of the bedroom between parents and children. To reduce the likelihood of SIDS, experts recommend that parents sleep in the same room with an infant for up to 6 months, and ideally up to 12. But this does not refer to the same bed. In the previous recommendations, it was about the baby sleeping in a separate room, starting from 6 months.

Dr. Paul argues that the old recommendation was not based on real data, but on the opinion of experts. Therefore, it was questioned.

Duration of sleep of infants

According to the author, experts in the field of sleep have long advocated that after the first few months the child should be laid in his own room, as this will help him to sleep soundly and for a long time. During the new study, the scientists examined the questionnaires of 230 young mothers when their children were 4, 9, 12 and 30 months old.

After 9 months, the children who were at night in a separate room slept for 40 minutes more than those who lived in the same room with the mother. Also, the children who were sleeping at night in their own rooms, at the age of 2.5 years, slept for 45 minutes more than in other children.

In addition, children who lived with their parents in the same room from 4 to 9 months of their life had four times more chances to move to their parents' bed during the night. This is a known and long established risk factor for the syndrome of sudden infant death. However, the study did not consider the question of how a newborn child in a room affects the sleep of parents.

Sleep safety

Dr. Fern Hawke is a professor of family medicine and public health sciences at the University of Virginia.

She says that research raises questions about sleep safety in one room, as this can lead to a potentially dangerous habit of sleeping with children in one bed. However, the differences in sleep duration among the 4-month-old babies were insignificant. Among the children who slept in the parents' room, the longest period of sleep was about 7 hours, compared to 7 hours and 49 minutes of sleep of children who slept separately. Seven hours is still well above the normal range for sleep at this age.

Hawke, who participated in the development of the guidelines of the Association of Pediatricians, speaks about the advantage of sleeping in one room. Studies show that this reduces the risk of SIDS, helps stimulate breastfeeding and provides peace of mind for parents, as they can better look after the baby and be around when it needs to be reassured.

Nevertheless, the author of the study, Dr. Paul says that when children grow older, they do not need to be fed in the middle of the night. In addition, the risk of SIDS is significantly reduced after 6 months. However, he admits that his research has limitations. For example, it did not cover the population as a whole. The participants were mostly white couples whose family income was $ 75,000 or more.

What should parents do?

Based on the data obtained by scientists during the study, it can be concluded that 6 months is a good time to start laying a child in his room. Scientists are urging parents to weigh potential pluses and minuses of sleep in one room. But even during these first 6 months it's worth keeping in mind that sleeping in the same bed with a child is a bad idea, and parents should take measures to avoid this. After 6 months, the risk of sudden infant death syndrome decreases, so parents have more freedom in choosing what will be better for their child. Some may decide to leave the infant in their bedroom, while others can arrange a separate room for him.