"Co-sleeping next to your baby is incomparable" says James McKenna, PhD.
We were able to show in a sleep laboratory that the same mom-baby pair sleeping together over successive nights varied tremendously in the amount of breastfeeds the baby would get by virtue of the baby either sleeping in bed with the mother and/or sleeping in another room very close by. Indeed it really surprised us, it was almost like two different families that were being measured.
The closer the baby to the mother, the greater the numbers of breastfeeds, and that of course increases mother's milk supply, and it permits mother to manage that milk, and her baby to sleep in a much more comfortable and/or efficient way. It's especially important for the human infant to sleep close to it's mother and exchange these sensory signals, given the fact that human babies are the most vulnerable unlike any other mammal infant.
About the author:
Professor James J. McKenna is recognized as the world’s leading authority on mother-infant co-sleeping, in relationship to breastfeeding and SIDS. In recognition of his work in 2009 he was admitted as a Fellow into the select body of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world's most prestigious scientific society.
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