The strain of dealing with night waking pushes many parents to the limits of their endurance. They may resort to brutal tactics, such as leaving babies to cry it out or placing locks on their preschoolers' doors. Family bedding allows you to meet your child's needs and be available as a parent during the long night hours without placing undue stress on yourself or weakening the trust your child has in you. Your child will grow in confidence at her own pace, rather than being forced into premature and illusory independence before she is ready. It makes breastfeeding easier.
Breastfed babies get a significant portion of their milk intake from night nursing.
This is normal and beneficial, for it has positive health benefits in suppressing the mother's ovulation, which is part of the mechanism by which breastfeeding protects against cancer. If you breastfeed in the family bed, you can give your child free access to the breast without tiring yourself out. If you are a mother who works outside of the home, nighttime nursing is the ideal way to stimulate your milk supply and make sure your child is able to have as much of your precious milk as possible. In Japan, which has the lowest rate of SIDS in the world and in many other countries where co-sleeping is also the norm rates of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome are a fraction of those in the United States. While scientists are still investigating the role the family bed plays, two factors appear significant.