Is Bed-Sharing With Babies Really Dangerous? Book Author Says Co-Sleeping Develops Children’s Self-Reliance & Social Maturity

Many parents believe that bed-sharing with babies pose harmful risks. While this is true in some instances, co-sleeping with infants also come with benefits that a child will carry as he/she grows up.

Parent Herald previously reported about the dangerous and fatal consequences of bed-sharing to babies. Bed-sharing with an infant -- whether it's on a bed, sofa, or a chair -- can lead to suffocation or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

Experts said that bed-sharing increases babies' risk of overheating, head covering, rebreathing or airway obstruction and exposure to tobacco smoke, for those who have parents that have smoking habits. Other injuries that babies can get from bed-sharing are suffocation, asphyxia, strangulation, falls and entrapment.

Dr. Michael Goodstein, a clinical associate professor of pediatrics at Pennsylvania State University, said that babies who are younger than 3 months, are born prematurely, and/or with low birth weight are the most susceptible to dying due to bed-sharing, Medical News Today reported. These infants still have undeveloped motor skills and muscle strength that prevent them from escaping possible threats.

In America, Britain, Germany and other parts of Western Europe, it is common practice to put babies in cots or cribs in a separate room from where the parents sleep in, according to the Los Angeles Times. In contrast, parent-child co-sleeping is customary in other regions such as in Asia (i.e. India, Japan, and Nepal), Africa (Kenya, Nigeria, and Zambia) and Latin America (Mexico and Colombia).

In Kenya, parents are astounded when Americans asked them if their babies sleep through the night. Their babies don't wake up during the night and cry out. This led researchers to believe that sleep disruption and therefore, infant crying, are more prevalent when babies are put in a separate room.

Japan's infant mortality rate, meanwhile, trumps the belief that bed-sharing can be fatal to babies. The country has one of the lowest infant mortality rates globally, with only 2.8 deaths per 1,000 live births compared to 6.2 in the United States. Japan's SIDS rate is only half of what the U.S. has recorded.

American parents are also anxious that bed-sharing will make their child dependent, but Japanese kids proved yet again that this isn't entirely true. Japan's children have mature and independent natures like American kids.

Christine Gross-Loh, a journalist and author of the book "Parenting Without Borders," said that children who shared beds with their parents are socially responsible and are self-reliant. These kids know how to take care of themselves and their possessions, capable of dealing with peer conflicts appropriately and exhibit self-regulation and mature social behavior despite their young age.