Colecho or family bed: parents and mothers sleeping with babies
Throughout the history of the human race, it has been usual the members of the same family, parents and children, slept in the same bed . Well for reasons of space, economic or by mere custom.
This practice known as colecho has developed a great reputation in recent years and it is firmly defended by those people who advocate a parenting based on attachment. However, there is also a great controversy surrounding this practice. Below we describe what it is, its pros and cons.
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What is the co-sleeping or family bed?
The practice of co-sleeping or family bed refers to the habit in which babies or small children sleep with their parents. This highly standardized practice in most parts of the world has become another means to develop the affective and attachment dynamics within the family .
Although in many occasions or contexts, co-sleeping is only carried out to make sure that the child sleeps warm and well during the night, it has been recently when, those people who follow the styles of parenting with attachment, have endowed this practice of benefits for physical and mental health, as well as for the happiness of parents and children
There are several ways to practice co-sleeping at home , from spending the nights the whole family in the same bed, to using beds or continuous cots or using specially designed cradles to join them to the parents' bed.
Whatever the chosen option, the decision to practice co-sleeping should be made in a consensual manner between the parents and carried out in a responsible manner, guaranteeing the safety of the baby.
The best option is for those parents who decide to start practicing co-sleeping go to a specialist or a midwife to advise them on how to carry it out in the best way.
However, the following describes a series of points to take into account when practicing co-sleeping.
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Tips to practice it
There are a series of guidelines, advice and precautions developed by different organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) that parents should take into account before starting co-sleeping. These guidelines are the following.
The baby should be lying on his back. Use a flat, firm mattress. The use of water mattresses, sofas or small beds is totally contraindicated. Parents should ensure that there is no possibility of the baby falling out of bed.
- Do not cover the baby's head .
- The use of pillows, blankets or stuffed animals is not recommended.
- Avoid overheating or excess heat in the bed .
- If either of the parents is a smoker, it is discouraged for them to sleep in the same bed. As well as smoking in the same room as the baby.
- Do not share a bed if any type of sleeping pill has been consumed , drug or alcoholic beverage.
- If one of the parents suffers some kind of disease that decreases the level of response.
- Do not share a bed if either parent has a cold, has a flu or fever or an infectious disease.
- It is discouraged for pets to go up or sleep in the same bed in which the baby sleeps.
In what situations is it useful?
Regardless of the benefits of co-sleeping, which we will describe later, there are a couple of situations in which the practice of co-sleeping is especially useful and parents can take into account if they want to do this practice occasionally.
One of the situations in which "collecting", or that the baby or child sleeps with their parents, is when he is especially nervous or restless for any reason and it is practically impossible for him to sleep alone.
Also, if it is the parents who feel tired or exhausted and have the need to carry out the night care of the baby, with the minimum possible effort, such as breastfeeding, co-sleeping is an interesting practice to try.
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What are the advantages of co-sleeping?
There are several studies that have been carried out around the practice of co-sleeping, which have reached a large number of conclusions and have established a number of advantages that this practice has in relation to the health and well-being of the baby.
One of the most important psychological advantages that this practice or custom possesses is that increases the feeling of protection that has the baby, as well as power and reinforces the emotional bond that is established between the parents and the child.
The list of advantages offered by the co-sleeping can include:
- Co-sleeping helps the establishment and maintenance of breastfeeding and also facilitates nightly shots .
- Increases episodes of REM sleep, this fact reduces the occurrence of sleep apneas, extremely dangerous for the child.
- Decreases the risk of hypoglycemia.
- Descend the frequency and duration of the baby's crying .
- It makes it easier for the baby to fall asleep sooner and nocturnal awakenings decrease.
- The co-sleeping can synchronize sleep cycles between mother and baby .
- The Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is considerably reduced. Although this point is still being investigated, indications have been found that When decreasing sleep apnea, the risk of SIDS also decreases .
- Finally, the theories that support the practice of the co-sleeping assure that this favors the optimal neuronal development of the baby, as well as the development of the capacity of response, self-esteem and personal autonomy.
Controversies around this way of sleeping
As with virtually all trends or theories around child rearing or care, there are a number of controversies and criticisms about co-sleeping.
The detractors of this practice rely on a series of disadvantages or dangers that they relate to in the fact that fathers or mothers and children share a bed . These drawbacks are:
- Choking risk for the baby.
- Do not perform it in premature babies or with weights less than 2.5 kg.
- The alertness of the parents that can appear when sleeping with the baby can lead to their sleeping worse or not resting.
- The lack of privacy It could harm the relationship.
- Some studies indicate that practicing co-sleeping after the baby is one year old can create dependency on this and develop a less mature personality.
- Contrary to studies that say that co-sleeping reduces the risk of sudden death, there are a number of medical authorities who insist that co-sleeping could increase it. However, if we take as an example countries like Japan, which has the lowest rate of SMSL, in these yes the practice of co-sleeping is advised.
