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. 2004 Dec;89(12):1106–1110. doi: 10.1136/adc.2003.038067

The prevalence and characteristics associated with parent–infant bed-sharing in England

P Blair 1, H Ball 1
PMCID: PMC1719770  PMID: 15557042

Abstract

Aims: To investigate the characteristics of parent–infant bed-sharing prevalence in England.

Methods: Data on night-time sleeping practices from a two year, local, longitudinal study and a three-year, national, cross-sectional study were obtained. A total of 261 infants in North Tees were followed up at 1 and 3 months of age, as were 1095 infants aged 1 week to 1 year from five English health regions.

Results: Data from both studies found that almost half of all neonates bed-shared at some time with their parents (local = 47%, 95% CI 41 to 54; national = 46%, 95% CI 34 to 58), and on any one night in the first month over a quarter of parents slept with their baby (local = 27%, 95% CI 22 to 33; national = 30%, 95% CI 20 to 42). Bed-sharing was not related to younger mothers, single mothers, or larger families, and was not more common in the colder months, at weekends, or among the more socially deprived families; in fact bed-sharing was more common among the least deprived in the first months of life. Breast feeding was strongly associated with bed-sharing, both at birth and at 3 months. Bed-sharing prevalence was uniform with infant age from 3 to 12 months; on any one night over a fifth of parents (national = 21%, 95% CI 18 to 24) slept with their infants.

Conclusion: Bed-sharing is a relatively common practice in England, not specific to class, but strongly related to breast feeding.

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Figure 1.

Figure 1

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 Bed-sharing on a specific night by infant age (prevalence every four weeks with 95% CIs). National CESDI study.

Figure 2.

Figure 2

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 Bed-sharing on a specific night by month (neonates and infants at 3–4 months) (prevalence in three month blocks with 95% CIs). Data from national and local studies combined.

Figure 3.

Figure 3

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 Bed-sharing on a specific night by day (neonates and infants at 3 months) (prevalence with 95% CIs). Data on national and local studies combined.

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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