Co-sleeping: Proximal parenting for the child in its first 1,000 days

Introduction: Sleeping with your infant (known as co-sleeping) is a proximal parenting practice. In some societies, 80 percent of children sleep with their parents. In France, a culture of sleeping separately has emerged, and the practice of co-sleeping has been associated with sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). International recommendations tend to advise against co-sleeping and to devalue it as a practice.
Material and methods: Two focus groups with co-sleepers (n=6) complemented by ten in-depth interviews were organized to identify the motivations and organization that mothers and their partners have when it comes to practicing co-sleeping with their children. A content analysis of what was said in the interviews by individuals and couples enabled us to find out more about the needs that co-sleeping responds to, as well as parents’ co-sleeping practices.
Results: Co-sleeping, made taboo by SIDS, responds to emotional and practical factors. The couple’s life does not seem to be negatively impacted by it. The positive relationship it allows parents to have with their children is valued. Recommendations may often describe this way of sleeping as “unsafe,” but co-sleepers support this parenting practice, along with breastfeeding.
Conclusion: The results highlight the health education importance for co-sleepers. Being educated about co-sleeping will ensure that their practice is safe and will mean that they do not isolate themselves socially to hide it because they only have partial knowledge of the SIDS safety measures.