Co-sleeping and neonatal weight loss

The degree of neonatal weight loss and the time required for a newborn to regain birth-weight vary between different populations. It has been suggested that co-sleeping, the sharing of a single bed by mother and baby, might be an important factor in determining the neonatal weight change. In a rural setting in central Africa, 203 mother-baby pairs were studied. For 101 babies cared for in cribs and for 102 babies who shared their mothers' beds, sleeping location was associated with no significant difference either in the weight loss (6.3% for each group) or the time taken to regain birthweight (5.3 days for crib-cared babies and 5.4 days for co-sleepers). It is concluded that co-sleeping does not play a major role in determining the neonatal weight change.