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connect pat h ways to pa r e n t i n g f or some moms, great
sleep
doesn?t come unless their little ones are in the
room
with them, in their own cribs. and for other moms,
sleep
doesn?t come unless they know their little ones are safely
sleep
ing in their nurser- ies in their cribs. however, with the release of new safe
sleep
recommendations, moms are questioning if they?re allowing their little ones to
sleep
in their nurser- ies on their own too soon. the american academy of pediatrics (aap) released new safe
sleep
recom- mendations that encourage parents to share their bed
room
with their infant for at least the first six months, and optimally, for the first year of the infant?s life. however, pediatricians are still questioning these recommendations and share that there is plenty of work to be done to determine if this will in fact help. dr. macy lau of our lady of the lake regional medical center explains, ?
room
sharing is helpful in reducing sids. however, 90 percent of sids cases oc- cur before six months. pediatricians are still questioning this recommendation, and they are not clear yet if this will truly help. there are more studies being done and more information that will come.?
room
sharing for an extended period of time could eventually lead to other health-related problems. for instance, another concern that pediatricians have is how
room
sharing can cause poor
sleep
habits. dr. lau adds, ?it could also cause unhealthy habits for the
baby
. the longer you keep the
baby
in the same
room
, the harder it is to get the
baby
out of the
room
. by sharing the
room
, the
baby
may learn that if she cries then you will come to the bed. and, if you are still sharing a
room
with your
baby
at nine months, you are more likely to develop unsafe
sleep
practices such as allowing the child to
sleep
with you.? while there is more work to be done, dr. lau continues to provide all infor- mation regarding safe
sleep
practices with moms-to-be. she also advises that infants always
sleep
on their backs and that parents do not co-
sleep
with their infants. aap further recommends to avoid using so? bedding, crib bumpers, blankets, pillows, and so? toys in the crib for safe
sleep
ing practices. ?
room
sharing with
baby
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