The practice of letting an infant sleep in the same bed with a parent or care giver is increasing in the United States even though potential hazards have not been fully explored, a report said recently.
A study found "an increase in routine bed sharing during the past decade from 5.5 per cent in 1993-1994 to 12.8 per cent in 1999-2000," according to the report from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. "We found that sleeping on an adult bed is, in fact, more common than we expected at the onset of the investigation, with nearly 50 per cent of infants in the (study) spending at least some time during the preceding two weeks sleeping on an adult bed at night and about 20 per cent doing so half the time or more, while an adult bed is the 'usual' nighttime sleep environment for 13 per cent of infants in recent years," it added.
The study, based on telephone interviews, appeared in the current issue of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, published by the American Medical Association.
Although common in many cultures, bed sharing is controversial in the United States, the report said. While proponents claim there are benefits, such as more and longer periods of breast-feeding, there are hidden hazards including falls, suffocation and getting trapped between the bed and a wall, the head board, or foot board, the study said.
The report found that mothers less than 18 years old were almost two and a half times more likely to share a bed with their infants; those reporting their race as black, Asian or "other" were likely to share beds with their babies; and parents in households making less than US$20,000 per year were about one and a half times money.
"Given the desire of some parents to engage in this practice, more research is needed to understand the range of practices and their potential benefits or hazards," the study concluded.
(Agencies via Xinhua January 20, 2003)
