What Is Co-Sleeping?

Co-sleeping is often thought to be synonymous with bed sharing—aka letting baby sleep in the same bed with you. But co-sleeping can also mean simply putting baby to sleep in the same room as you but in a separate bed. And doing that gets the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) seal of approval.

If it involves sharing the same bed as baby, most doctors say don’t do it, since it can increase the risk of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death Syndrome (SUIDS). But you can practice safe co-sleeping if you put baby to sleep in a separate bassinet next to your bed—as opposed to in your bed. (This is your happy medium!) In fact, the latest AAP recommendations encourage parents to room-share with baby for at least the first six months, and ideally a year, since having baby nearby actually lowers the risk of SIDS by as much as 50 percent.