Is co-sleeping the last taboo?

Co-Sleeping… It’s a scary word to say and almost as taboo as discussing the safety of vaccinating ( or not vaccinating). To some it’s even worse to consider doing than expressing milk in public.

But many of us do it. Some do it secretly, afraid of being accused of being a bad mother. And some stand up and shout it loud and proud from the roof tops.

For some parents it is a survival mechanism. For some it is just the way things should be. And then for others co-sleeping conjures horrible images of a terrible night’s sleep.

Research shows that mothers who co-sleep are more likely to breastfeed for longer periods.

Is it bad? Is is wrong? Is it something a mother and father should be able to decide? In Japan, co-sleeping is the norm and cot sleeping is strange. In Australia, cot sleeping is the norm and co-sleeping is strange. Does one culture do it right and the other wrong?

Or is it simply a matter of, what’s best for Mum and Dad is best for Bub?

If you choose to co-sleep, safety, as with all things, is paramount. In Michelle Zipp’s article on The Stir, she writes about how important it is to co-sleep safely. And, like all things, if it is done safely it is a perfectly ok thing to do. Perhaps the most interesting thing about co-sleeping is that despite the fact it is the norm in some cultures around the world, it is considered to be such a shameful thing and many parents are afraid to admit that they do it.

Some of our Mamas have asked if co-sleeping and attachment parenting go hand in hand, or if co-sleeping and being a babywearer go hand in hand. We passed the question over to our Facebook community and we received a beautiful range of responses to help you make your decision. One mum commented that she co-slept because she was back at work full time. She said that this allowed her to give her baby the physical contact she needed despite being absent much of the day. She also said that it meant she could feed bub through the night and continue breastfeeding without the angst of expressing while at work. Another mum commented that it depended on the baby. She said that her first child needed that physical security in his sleep in order to sleep soundly but that her second bub like to be wrapped up and have his own space.Some mums co-sleep and baby wear. Others just co-sleep and don’t babywear. And then others babywear but don’t co-sleep.