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Bed-sharing and the infant's thermal environment in the home setting

S A Baddock1, B C Galland, M G S Beckers

  • 1Department of Women's & Children's Health, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. barbara.galland@stonebow.otago.ac.nz

Archives of Disease in Childhood
|November 24, 2004
PubMed

Insights

Bed-sharing infants experience warmer thermal conditions than cot-sleeping infants, but maintain normal core temperatures. Bed-sharing is associated with more bedding and face covering events.

Area of Science:

  • Infant sleep safety
  • Thermoregulation
  • Environmental monitoring

Background:

  • Bed-sharing and cot-sleeping are common infant sleep practices.
  • Understanding the thermal environment is crucial for infant safety.
  • Previous research has not fully detailed the thermal characteristics of these sleep settings.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the thermal characteristics of bed-sharing versus cot-sleeping environments.
  • To identify potential hazards associated with different infant sleep situations.
  • To assess infant thermoregulation in natural home settings.

Main Methods:

  • Matched case-control study of 40 bed-sharing and 40 cot-sleeping infants (5-27 weeks).
  • Overnight video and physiological data collection in infants' homes.
  • Measurement of rectal, shin, and ambient temperatures.

Main Results:

  • Bed-sharing infants had slightly higher mean rectal temperatures and a greater rate of temperature change.
  • Shin temperatures were significantly higher in bed-sharing infants.
  • Bed-sharing infants had more bedding, more frequent face covering events, and more frequent waking/feeding.

Conclusions:

  • Infants who bed-share experience warmer thermal conditions compared to cot-sleeping infants.
  • Despite warmer conditions, bed-sharing infants demonstrate adequate thermoregulation, maintaining normal core temperatures.
  • Increased bedding and face covering events in bed-sharing require consideration for infant safety.
Abstract

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