A recent study by the University of Cape Town, South Africa, has deemed that the best place for baby at bedtime is with Mom.
Challenging countless warnings against co-sleeping which have been spurred by cases of accidental smothering, this newest study claims that Mom’s presence was not to blame for these fatalities, and instead points to factors such as cigarette smoke, pillows or blankets, and alcohol abuse.
Dr. Nils Bergman studied 16 infants while they were asleep on their mother’s chest or alone in a cot. The heartbeats of those sleeping with Mom were said to be at least three times less stressed than their infant counterparts who slept alone.
Being alone disrupted sleep, Bergman noted, and the babies’ brains were less likely to ‘cycle’ between two important and much-need types of sleep called ‘active’ and ‘quiet’.
The study concluded that babies may benefit from sleeping with their parents until the age of three or even four years of age, citing that their improved quality of sleep could ward off future tendencies toward promiscuity and a possible inability to form relationships.
Upon review of the study, Professor George Haycock of the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths, said: "Our position as a foundation is that we owe it to the public to recommend that the safest place is in a cot in the parents’ room."
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