Parents who share a bed with their baby in the hope of getting more sleep are actually harming their offspring's sleep, according to a study by a team of scientists from the University of Bergen, Norway and published in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.
These conclusions – which are likely to make some co-sleeping advocates cringe – come from a survey of 55,831 mothers about their child's sleeping habits.
It thus shows that the longer a child shares Mom and Dad's bed, the more often he risks waking up and seeing his sleep time shortened at the age of 18 months... Which is a priori, exactly the opposite of the expected effect!
In France, where the debate is raging between supporters and opponents of co-sleeping, many doctors advise against the "family bed" for safety reasons in order to avoid falls and limit the risk of crushing or suffocation.
