Why Do We Make Young Children Sleep Alone?

Sleep

Let’s think about this for a moment. Announcing to your children, “Go to sleep and stay there by yourself all night.” (while Mom and Dad get to share the night together)

This is simply an outdated model of children’s sleep habits, as research is now coming to light that there is an incredible amount of value that is added to the health of the child and the family by co-sleeping.

Putting a baby into a separate bedroom at night causes parents to wake for much greater periods of time and creates added exhaustion in early parenthood. It is much easier to have the baby or toddler right beside the bed with you, or depending on your level of safety comfort, sharing the bed with you. This makes it much easier to be able to comfort and nurse or feed your baby when he/she is unsettled in the night.

Babies are born very immature neurologically, and require close connection to their parents – not just during the daylight hours, but also at night! Being separated for too long elicits a stress response in the young child (ie. abandonment, fear, separation anxiety) and can cause issues with healthy development.

Additionally, when each child has her/her own separate room, it forces the size of the home to grow significantly, as the family is spread out across much more space (which requires more resources to build the home, energy to heat it, light it and maintain it). Sleep has become a detriment to our environmental that adds a huge carbon footprint.

Why did we stop co-sleeping?

Our ancestors used to co-sleep for much of their growing-up years, as well as many families across poorer nations where they simply do not have the real estate to have separate sleeping rooms.

In the 20th century, there were several prominent physicians, such as Dr. William Whitty Hall, who insisted that it was uncivilized to sleep as a family, and that it was associated with poverty and social ills. In 1928, behavioural psychologist John Watson argued that children should occupy their own rooms or risk stunting the child’s development. And in 1985, Dr. Richard Ferber wrote that solitary sleep was meant allowing the child to become independent and reminded readers that co-sleeping was a primitive practice.

What are the benefits of co-sleeping?

• improved infant emotional health
• promotes more convenient breast feeding• it is natural and healthy
• creates closer-knit families
• can help to prevent SIDS
• helps your baby feel safe and protected
• less intergenerational conflict
• deeper sleep as individuals learn to be unaffected by snoring, a trip to the bathroom or tossing and turning
• kids grow up to be more tolerant of each other and fight less
• have better capacity to share
• more caring attitudes toward each other

What are the risks of co-sleeping?

• loose bedding
• waterbeds
• if parents are under the influence of drugs or alcohol – won’t have same level of alertness and responsiveness as usual
• parents who smoke should not co-sleep – some studies indicate a higher risk of SIDS
• if parents are incredibly deep sleepers

If you are worried about the safety of co-sleeping with your little one, talk to your natural health care provider. There are also many options for having them sleep very close to you, but with a little added protection, such as this bassinet: https://www.thebump.com/a/best-bassinet-halo-bassinest-swivel-sleeper-luxe-plus

With Sources From:

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-reiss-sleep-alone-20170324-story.html

Breastfeeding and Immunity

breastfeeding and immunity

There has definitely been more than enough negative social media coverage over the past few years regarding public breastfeeding.

What those people with negative comments probably don’t realize is that they are impacting the way some parents are raising their children.

Shaming a woman for feeding her child is the absolute last thing that should ever occur, yet it is still happening. Education and support for young families is vital to remove some of the stigmas that comes with breastfeeding an infant.

It is important to understand that the benefits of breastfeeding to mom and baby last a lifetime. Providing a newborn with the most perfectly composed breast milk provides them with such a wonderful opportunity to thrive, grow, and develop.

As compared to formula, which has a set nutritional composition, breast milk changes as the baby grows and their nutritional needs change. Early on, breast milk is higher in lactose (sugar) and water, and as the baby gets older, breast milk becomes higher in fat to support the baby’s growing caloric needs.

Possibly one of the most important benefits of breastfeeding is the fact that breast milk contains antibodies that aid in developing the infant’s immune system.

It has been reported that babies that are breast fed have fewer illnesses than babies that are formula fed. In addition, babies that are breast fed have a lower risk or developing diabetes, childhood cancer, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, obesity, allergies and asthma. It is also reported that there are fewer cases of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in babies that are breastfed.

If that evidence is not convincing enough, then how about the fact that breastfed children tend to score higher on IQ tests and academic performances. The nutritional components of the breast milk and emotional bonding with mother help to promote cognitive development in infants.

The benefits of breastfeeding for the mother are also quite significant. The most obvious benefit would be the bonding time that is spent as the baby is nursed several times a day. In addition, it has been shown that mothers who breast feed have a lower risk of breast cancer and ovarian cancer later in life. Breastfeeding also helps gradually restore the body to its pre-baby weight as more calories are burned daily to produce a steady supply of breastmilk. It has also been reported that women who didn’t breastfeed or who stopped breastfeeding early on had a higher risk of developing postpartum depression.

What To Do If Breastfeeding Isn’t An Option

We can certainly appreciate the fact that not all new moms have the opportunity or the ability to breast feed their children. In that case, there are options for mothers to explore. One of those options is to look for milk donors, who are other women with a sufficient milk supply to pump and freeze their extra milk.

If this option is not available, then the next best thing would be to research organic formula options and choose one that best fits your comfort level. Remember to do some serious research on what the ingredients are in the formula you choose. Just because it is organic does not mean that it is suitable for your baby.