Sleeping with Your Baby: A Parent's Guide to Cosleeping

by James J. McKenna

Sleeping With Your A Parent's Guide is your guide to understanding how to make nighttimes with your baby safe, fun and relaxing! Written by James McKenna, the world's authority on co-sleeping.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Family

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Dr. McKenna is the author of Sleeping with Your Baby: A Parent's Guide to Cosleeping .

He received his undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley in Anthropology and his Ph.D. from the University of Oregon, also in Anthropology, specializing in the evolution of human parenting systems and human development. He taught at the University of California at Berkeley for two years before accepting a tenure track position at Pomona College in Claremont, California where he taught for 20 years, and won several teaching awards. In 1997, he was recruited by the University of Notre Dame, where he is a Professor and the director of the University of Notre Dame Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Laboratory.

Dr. McKenna is best known for his pioneering studies of the differences between the physiology and behavior of solitary and co-sleeping mothers and infants-and the connection these data might have in addressing SIDS risks. He has published three books, the most recent one entitled Evolutionary Medicine with Oxford University Press. In addition, he has published well over 50 peer-reviewed papers on SIDS and co-sleeping.

Reviews

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding totally changed the way I parent, and this book, Sleeping with Your Baby helped me feel great about bedsharing, something that our culture, media, and even the AAP warns against. My thought is that if something feels good and natural and has worked throughout the course of human evolution, it is probably a good thing to do on many levels, as long as the parents educate themselves and do it safely. This book had a lot of "good science," and is a helpful and quick read. I only wish McKenna had included practical advice about weaning, but I guess that wasn't the purpose of his book!

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really simple book. Good practical do's and don'ts, but nothing too suprising. Draws attention to the fact that much of current Western practice is based on cultural preferences and assumptions rather than research, and that the media has overstated the dangers of cosleeping, especially considering it is predominant practice in much of the world.

[Kristy Hetzel · Rating 3 out of 5]

While there was some really interesting info in this book, it was quite repetitive. Having said that, for somebody very new or extremely hesitant about the topic, the repetition would probably be more comforting than annoying.

[Amy Balaich · Rating 5 out of 5]

“It should be reassuring to know that many other scientists, including myself, who have studied SIDS and other aspects of human infant and maternal biology for a very long time, disagree with the AAP’s unqualified recommendation against bedsharing - not because there are many instances in which bedsharing should be recommended against, but because one negative recommendation against all bedsharing is too simplistic and scientifically flawed.” - James McKenna, author

[Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great resource with science based evidence. This book solidified my reasoning and quelled my fears about bedsharing with my son!

[Elisa Nobels · Rating 4 out of 5]

Supergoed, ik heb hier echt veel aan gehad. Wel heel erg gepolariseerd, maar als je je aan dezelfde kant van de pool bevindt, is het leuk en bruikbaar.

[Sidsie Vaughn Rubow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very important info whether or not you plan to sleep with your baby

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great resource! So good to read real science-based information about co-sleeping and bedsharing.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked that this book had very clear safety guidelines for co-sleeping, including illustrated do's and don'ts. I felt that there was an even-handed approach, advocating room-sharing vs. bed-sharing where risk factors exist. And they did a fine job of evaluating the recommendations against co-sleeping and then pointing out where more data needed to be studied. Appendix III (the AAP SIDS statement) and Appendix IV through VII (the responses from individuals/organizations who disagreed with the AAP) covered those points well.

I also liked the biological background, especially the chapter on animals. For example, I found it interesting that mammals who need to be away from their young for longer periods have a higher percentage of fat in the mother's milk (by comparison, human milk is very low in fat).

I didn't find Part III (FAQs/Advice) particularly useful. I was also disappointed that there weren't more stories from McKenna's work with the Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Laboratory. Still, I'd recommend this book to anyone who's considering co-sleeping, so they can educate themselves on all the safety issues.

[Bug · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a must-read for those interested in co-sleeping, but that being said, it's not a must-buy or must-have. Borrow a copy from a friend or get it from the library.

Quick read (1 day). Gives guidelines and history of co-sleeping and bed-sharing, with tips on how to do it safely.

See also his websites:

http://www.naturalchild.org/james_mck...

http://www.cosleeping.org/

http://www.nd.edu/~jmckenn1/lab/faq.html

[Sandra Hatton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt it was a little repetitive, but it had a lot of interesting facts about co-sleeping/bed sharing. I learned a lot and had all my suspicions and beliefs about the dangers of "crying it out" and importance of bed sharing confirmed. I definitely recommend all new mommies and daddies read this before they have their baby so that they can start co-sleeping from day one guilt-free. Everyone gets more sleep!

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I would be interested to read more in-depth results of Dr. McKenna's research, this book is a short but comprehensive read on an extremely divisive topic written by one of the leading experts in the field. If you have questions about what co-sleeping is, different ways it can be accomplished, and whether or not it is the right choice for your family (McKenna always leaves the ultimate answer to this question up to the parents), this book is an excellent resource.

[Sarah Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good reference, super quick read. I give it three stars only because I was expecting more content, or more secrets that aren't already easily extracted from other parenting books I'm reading.

I guess it's just reassuring to have one book on my shelf that's an authority on the subject, though. James McKenna truly is an amazing researcher and pioneer for infant sleep health!

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a pro co sleeping guide to all the benefits of sleeping with your baby, how to do so safely and when not to. This book made me feel everything I already felt was right indeed was.

[Erinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

This is a great book with science based evidence supporting cosleeping (which I said I would never do - until I had my son). I just wish it was longer.

[Phaedon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very informative in many ways. At the very least, it opened my eyes to the data suggesting that bad sharing can be safe in certain circumstances.

Unfortunately, it did leave a few questions unanswered for me, and because of that, it still left me with some doubts.

I will also note that the book is very brief, the section on how to bed share safely, particularly so. Nonetheless, there is a fair but of repetition. I was left with the impression that an effort had been made to pad out what could have been a long paper to become a short book.

[Jeanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I devoured this book in one sitting. A lot of the information i already knew but having the scientific data to back it up made me even more comfortable.
We had already decided to co-sleep, but i liked the reinforcement of correct ways to do it, outlining the benefits and again, data to back it up.
If you’re considering cosleeping, on the fence about it, or want more detailed info, this is the perfect read. It’s also short, easy to read, and to the point.

[Gracee febus · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good intro if your planning to co-sleep with baby. It goes over the how’s and the what not to do questions everyone may have. It also talks about how beneficial this is to baby and mama especially as a newborn. I would recommend

[Candis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy read. Lots of information about cosleeping, supported by evidence based research. I would recommend this to new parents. My husband read it as well and found it helpful.

[Emily Monroe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an easy-to-read reference and "how to" guide for safe bedsharing (cosleeping) practices. I learned a lot and will reference this book after my baby is born for safe practices.

[Katieloowho · Rating 5 out of 5]

very informative, nonjudgemental book.

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick and easy read, full of information. This was on my to-read list but I read it for a class assignment.

[Mateja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Co-sleeping is not black or white - it is very important HOW yo do it and this book is a good guide on safe co-sleeping.

[Emily Dyan Ibarra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed

A fast and simple read, but feeling more confident and understanding of cosleeping and how to do it properly. Would recommend.

[Andra Vltavín · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated the overview of the reasons why cosleeping has been frowned upon and especially enjoyed the section on cobedding with twins, but I do think it could have been more thorough.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is excellent. Probably the best book I’ve read on the subject to date. Accessible but everything is backed up.

[Majd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was easy to read, but very educational and eye-opening. I'm glad this book exists.

[Pippa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this whilst my son was curled up sleeping next to me. Although I was already bed-sharing and happy with my decision, this book has really made me
feel more confident about discussing it with other people and am happier to advise others to do so.

[Erika RS · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book contains a lot of useful information on why cosleeping is valuable to both infants and parents. It also clearly differentiates different types of cosleeping -- bed sharing vs sidecar style vs room sharing -- and their varied risks.

I think that understanding the risks of cosleeping and how to avoid them is important for any family. As is noted often, not just in this book, most parents end up sharing a bed with their infant at least some of the time. Knowing how to do so safely is thus an important part of keeping baby safe.

However, I am giving the book a fairly low rating because it it was short on the practical details. Part II, on how to safely cosleep, takes up only a handful of pages in this already short book, and most of the material is rehashing the safety information that follows directly from the discussion in the first part of this book. I think the general pregnancy books I read which reference this one go into more practical details than this book.

Now, that may be the degree of relevant detail. Safe cosleeping -- even of the bedshare variety -- isn't terribly complex, and if this had been called, "Sleeping with Your Baby: A Call for Safe Cosleeping" then I could forgive it for spending a lot of time on background and little on practice. But I expect a guide to be a bit more practical.

[Kyley · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. The author is the leading researcher of infant sleep/cosleeping so I was hoping for a book with lots of science and data. Instead it reads more like a pro-cosleeping pamphlet, trying to convince parents that the stigma is overblown. But my family has already made our decisions re: bedsharing, so I wasn't looking for justification or cultural analysis--I wanted to know about the science. This book is light on actual information, and left me unsatisfied.