Is it okay for a newborn to sleep alone? Should a newborn sleep with his parents?

Should newborn babies sleep with their parents? Many people have different opinions. Some think that babies feel safer sleeping with their parents, while others say that sleeping with their parents is risky. Which one is best for babies? Let's take a look~

Is it OK for a newborn to sleep alone?

Fragile babies are the apple of parents' eyes, and it seems natural to let them sleep next to them. However, the latest research report reminds parents who have this habit that doing so will greatly increase the risk of suffocation for babies within 8 weeks of age, because it will cause the baby's body temperature to overheat, produce toxins in the body, and reduce the ability to resist bacteria.

Sleeping with parents has the greatest risk. Many new mothers like to put their babies to sleep next to them, which is relatively convenient for breastfeeding in the middle of the night. Some mothers also think that letting their babies sleep next to them is the only way to prevent their babies from crying. Therefore, the number of parents sleeping with their babies has been increasing. However, the latest issue of the authoritative medical journal "The Lancet" published a report warning of the risks of this trend.

The researchers compared 745 babies who died of suffocation and 2,400 healthy babies in 17 European countries, including the UK and Ireland, and found that the biggest risk for newborn babies is sleeping next to their parents and adults smoking at home. In this case, the risk of death for babies increases by nearly 18%. Robert Carpenter, professor of medical statistics and leader of the study, said that even non-smoking parents and babies sleeping together are at risk. Studies have shown that 1.6 out of 100 8-week-old babies will die suddenly when sleeping with their parents.

If parents put their babies to sleep on their chests, the risk of death for the babies increases by 13%. A report published last year by American researchers reached the same conclusion. The risk is even higher: parents who sleep with their babies increase the chance of suffocation by 40 times, and parents sleeping on the sofa with their babies increase the chance of suffocation by 50 times. It is safest for babies to sleep alone in their parents' room. However, the study also shows that if babies sleep alone in another room in the first 8 weeks, they also face the risk of death. According to the report, it is best for parents to put their babies in a stroller and put the stroller in their own bedroom. Such babies are generally breastfed, and mothers will get up and take care of them more quickly if they feel something is wrong with the babies.

Every year, 350 to 400 babies die in the UK because they sleep with their parents. In the past, the British authorities only recommended that parents who smoke, are overly tired or addicted to alcohol and drugs should try not to sleep with their newborns. The British charity "Infant Death Research Foundation" said that the latest research report is the most comprehensive research result in decades, and the foundation will immediately revise the foundation's previous advice to parents. The foundation's director Joyce Ipstein pointed out that "it is safest for babies to sleep in their own strollers, which are placed in the parents' bedroom."

Babies are poisoned if they don't dissipate heat. Babies haven't learned to control their body temperature yet, so most of the heat in their bodies can only be dissipated through their faces. Sleeping with their heads down or covering their heads with something will cause their bodies to overheat. If their bodies are overheated, bacteria may grow in their noses and throats, and the bacteria will release toxins. Babies are more vulnerable to these toxins if their parents smoke indoors.

Four benefits of having your baby sleep alone

1. Good for the baby's health

If the baby sleeps with the parents, especially with the adults between them, although it is more convenient to take care of the baby, it will cause some harm to the baby's health. The baby sleeping between the adults will be surrounded by the heavy clothes and quilts of the adults, which may accidentally crush the baby; the carbon dioxide exhaled by the adults during sleep will diffuse around the baby all night, so that the baby cannot get fresh air, and will have restless sleep, nightmares and crying at night; if the baby sleeps in the same bed with the adults, the germs on the adults can easily be transmitted to the baby; sometimes when the parents turn over or move, the baby will be awakened, affecting the quality of sleep. Therefore, letting the baby sleep alone is good for their health.

2. It is conducive to cultivating inner independence from an early age

Whether the inner self is independent is an important indicator of whether infants and young children can correctly understand themselves. Studies have shown that children's independence is from form to content. The so-called form is the visible and tangible behavior of children, while the content is the inner self of children. Letting children sleep separately from their parents at the appropriate age is conducive to the cultivation of independent consciousness and self-care ability, and can promote psychological maturity. Babies can do a lot of things when they are alone or without the help of adults, such as playing with themselves, talking to themselves, etc., which can prevent them from being overly dependent on their parents when they grow up, and when they feel lonely in the future, the experience of being alone in childhood will help them quickly adapt to the surrounding environment.

3. It is conducive to promoting the relationship between couples

With the addition of a baby, the focus of family life shifts to the baby, and many things revolve around the baby. As a result, the communication, exchanges and mutual care between the couple are much less than before. Often, the mother has to coax the baby to sleep at night, and if the baby is difficult to deal with, it takes a long time to coax. After the baby falls asleep, the couple is already very sleepy, which will inevitably affect their relationship in the long run.

4. Avoid developing an Oedipus complex

When babies are about 3 years old, they can already distinguish whether they are boys or girls. They have their initial gender awareness and are in an important psychological development stage. If they do not sleep in separate beds from their parents for a long time, they may develop an Oedipus complex or an Electra complex, which may lead to a lack of self-love and self-discipline in the future, or even sexual identification disorders.

Should you sleep with your baby?

Most experts discourage co-sleeping for a variety of reasons. First, children are restless when they sleep. They kick, scratch, grab, and hit, which can keep parents awake. Second, co-sleeping can have a negative impact on a couple's relationship. "Co-sleeping disrupts your entire life," says Deborah Tolchin, a pediatrician in New York City. "Your adult life shouldn't be completely dominated by your child's sleep habits." Once co-sleeping begins, it's hard to get a child to sleep alone again.

Except for some developed countries in Europe and America, mothers of all nationalities in the world almost always let their children sleep in the same room or bed with them. But suddenly, some Chinese mothers began to blindly follow the Western practice and leave their children in a separate room, calling it "cultivating children's independence."

Little do people know that a child's independence does not need to be cultivated so early, and independence is not something that can be cultivated. From birth to 3 years old, what babies need is not independence, but the greatest satisfaction of their attachment to their parents. A hungry person cannot carry a heavy load on a long journey, and only when he is full can he be competent for other things. Similarly, a child whose sense of attachment is not satisfied and who is emotionally and spiritually hungry cannot be independent. From birth to 18 months old, no matter how you caress, kiss, and hug your baby, you will not "spoil" him. Children whose sense of attachment to their parents is fully satisfied and whose sense of security is well established will automatically break away from their parents and move towards independence.

My personal suggestion is: let your child sleep with his mother when he is young, and gradually develop the habit of sleeping alone as he grows up.