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Co-sleeping, the practice of sharing a bed with your baby, has a controversial place in modern society. Proponents argue that it increases the parent-child bond, whereas detractors worry about safety. Now an anthropological study adds a new finding to the debate: fathers who sleep next to their babies tend to have significantly lower levels of testosterone than those who sleep in a different room.
Lee Gettler, an anthropologist at the University of Notre Dame, compared Filipino men's testosterone levels before having a child and again four years later. Men who reported sleeping on the same surface as their child experienced a steep decline in nighttime testosterone levels not seen in men who slept in another room, according to the paper published in September 2012 in PLOS One. Studies on women have shown that mothers who sleep with their children pass in and out of sleep. The same disruptions in men could possibly decrease testosterone production, Gettler and his co-authors write.
Previous work in the same population showed that fathers who fully throw themselves into caring for their children are more likely to have low testosterone, suggesting that hormonal fluctuations may support men in being good fathers. “Lower testosterone might orient men more toward the needs of the partner and children and away from risky behavior and competition with other males—which could conflict with investments in parenting,” Gettler says.
This article was originally published with the title How Co-Sleeping with an Infant Might Make You a Better Dad.
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11 Comments
Add CommentIMO, the title should have read:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"How Co-Sleeping with an Infant Might Make Dad a Better Mother..."
Testosterone is not necessarily an bad thing in men...
IMO, the title should have read:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"How Co-Sleeping with an Infant Might Make Dad a greiving parent"
It is a dangerous practice, especially for large heavy sleepers.But yesterday Coroner John Olle issued a blunt warning to parents – sleeping with your baby leads to fatal consequences, with evidence that up to half of babies who are found accidentally dead, are found asleep in bed beside their parents. http://www.mamamia.com.au/parenting/co-sleeping-is-dangerous/
Just for clarification, co-sleeping actually means you share a room with a baby and that baby could be sleeping in a crib, bassinet, etc. Bed sharing is the term for sharing a bed with a child and it is possible to do very safely. I have bed shared with both of my children from birth.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn this article, at least, the term co-sleeping seems to be applied to "Men who reported sleeping on the same surface as their child..."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI suspect that, throughout history and prehistory, most babies have shared a 'bed' with their mothers, especially prior to the advent of central heating. That doesn't mean that it's safe to do so on all surfaces, especially with soft pillows, waterbeds and Tempur-Pedic mattresses, etc. There certainly could be statistically increased risk of suffocation for babies sleeping in modern beds with parents, siblings, cats, etc.
All that said, those risks may not outweigh the benefits of improved bonding between mother and baby...
And children who sleep next to parents have a much higher in-bed mortality rate. A wise spanish sentence says: "Those who sleep with children awake crapped"
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI also have slept with my infant children on occasion but there are definitely increased risks if it is done regularly, especially if the adult has been drinking or is a heavy sleeper & the other bedding factors mentioned above also are important.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPlease research bed sharing before automatically dismissing it as dangerous.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://cosleeping.nd.edu/safe-co-sleeping-guidelines/
http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/parenting/sleep-problems/sleep-safety/safe-co-sleeping-habits
No doubt there are important benefits - bedsharing has
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisundoubtedly been the standard, at least until the child is weened, since forever!
Rachelle , I do not disagree with you if the proper precautions are taken. The trouble is that when things like this are printed without the caveat lector, well...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisCosleeping would seem to be a wonderful way for BOTH parents to bond with their precious new baby.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBut before we all start, perhaps the following should also be considered:
"Is Cosleeping Safe?
Despite the possible pros, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warns parents not to place their infants to sleep in adult beds, stating that the practice puts babies at risk of suffocation and strangulation. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends the practice of room-sharing with parents without bed-sharing. The practice of room-sharing according to the AAP is a way to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Cosleeping is a widespread practice in many non-Western cultures. However, differences in mattresses, bedding, and other cultural practices may account for the lower risk in these countries as compared with the United States.
According to the CPSC, at least 515 deaths were linked to infants and toddlers under 2 years of age sleeping in adult beds from January 1990 to December 1997:
121 of the deaths were attributed to a parent, caregiver, or sibling rolling on top of or against a baby while sleeping
more than 75% of the deaths involved infants younger than 3 months old."
- http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sleep/cosleeping.html#
Caveat Lector - may the Reader beware.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisCaveat Emptor - may the Buyer beware.
(In response to Carlyle)