Mileva-Seitz et al. (2017): Parent-Child Bed-Sharing Review (Sleep Medicine Reviews)
No evidence that cosleeping harms long-term development
Systematic review of 659 published papers on parent-child bed-sharing in Sleep Medicine Reviews. Examines socioeconomic and cultural correlates, purported risks including SIDS, and developmental outcomes. The most comprehensive synthesis of bed-sharing research to date.
The Mileva-Seitz, Bakermans-Kranenburg, Battaini and Luijk review in Sleep Medicine Reviews systematically examined 659 published papers on parent-child bed-sharing. The review pulled together evidence on socioeconomic and cultural correlates of the practice, purported risks (including SIDS and sleep problems), and developmental outcomes including attachment, cognitive development, behavioral outcomes, and parent-child relationship measures.
The pooled finding on outcomes was that bed-sharing had either no association or a positive association with the developmental measures studied, and no consistent evidence of negative effects on attachment, independence, or social development. The review covered cosleeping practices across cultures. The conclusion noted that the cultural narrative warning that cosleeping creates dependent or maladjusted children is not supported by the developmental research base.
Systematic
Review methodology
Sleep Medicine Reviews
Journal
2017
Publication year
0
Negative developmental effects found
Why it matters
The fear that cosleeping creates dependent children is one of the main cultural arguments against the practice. The systematic review of actual outcomes does not support that fear.
This is one finding from the research library behind How to Birth a Mother. Everything here traces back to a study, a dataset, or a systematic review.