BACKGROUND Little is known about the effect of bed-sharing with the mother over the child mental health. METHODS Population-based birth cohort conducted in Pelotas, Brazil. Children were enrolled at birth (n=4231) and followed-up at 3 months and at 1, 2, 4, and 6 years of age. Bed-sharing was defined as "habitual sharing of the bed between the child and the mother, for sleeping, for part of t...

OBJECTIVE Normative values for infant sleep architecture have been established exclusively in the solitary sleeping environment. However, most of the world's cultures practice some form of parent-infant cosleeping. In addition, no previous polysomnographic studies in infants examined the frequency of electroencephalogram (EEG) arousals. This is the first study to assess (a) EEG arousals in infa...

AIM In spite of several reports of an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in connection with bed-sharing, it is not an uncommon practice. The aim of this study was to examine bed-sharing at 6 months of age and the factors that are associated with bed-sharing. METHODS Our cohort comprised 8176 randomly chosen families. At 6 month of age, the families received an invitation to...

AIM To explore the link between breastfeeding duration and bed-sharing frequency among women reporting a prenatal intention to breastfeed. METHODS About 870 participants in a randomised breastfeeding trial, recruited at mid-pregnancy, provided weekly snapshots of breastfeeding and bed-sharing behaviour for 26 weeks following birth. Strength of prenatal breastfeeding intent was recorded at rec...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the association between bed-sharing with the mother at 3 months of age and incidence of hospitalisation due to pneumonia and diarrhoea between 3 and 12 months. METHODS The 2004 Pelotas Birth Cohort included all live births to mothers living in Pelotas, Brazil, in 2004. Information on bed-sharing was obtained at the 3-month follow-up visit, and on hospitalisations at t...

Aim: To explore the link between breastfeeding duration and bed-sharing frequency among women reporting a prenatal intention to breastfeed. Methods: 870 participants in a randomised breastfeeding trial, recruited at mid-pregnancy, provided weekly snapshots of breastfeeding and bed-sharing behaviour for 26 weeks following birth. Strength of prenatal breastfeeding intent was recorded at recruitme...

One can hypothesise diverse influences of bed-sharing practices on respiratory disease. First, the close contact between bed-sharing parents and their offspring could lead to increased transmission of infectious agents and, thus, more virus-induced wheeze in the children. Conversely, the hygiene hypothesis suggests that contact with common pathogens in early childhood might protect from later a...

BACKGROUND It is unclear if it is safe for babies to bed share with adults. In Ireland 49% of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) cases occur when the infant is bed-sharing with an adult. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of bed-sharing during the last sleep period on risk factors for SIDS in Irish infants. DESIGN An 8 year (1994-2001) population based case control study of 287 SIDS cases an...