title: Frequency of bed sharing and its relationship to breastfeeding.
abstract: Bed sharing has been promoted as facilitating breastfeeding but also may increase risks for sudden, unexpected infant deaths. This prospective cohort study was performed to determine the prevalence of adult and infant bed sharing and its association with maternal and infant characteristics. Demographic data were collected from 10,355 infant-mother pairs at birth hospitals in Eastern Massachusetts and Northwest Ohio, and follow-up data were collected at 1, 3, and 6 months by questionnaire. Associations with bed sharing were estimated using odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals from multiple logistic regression models while adjusting for confounding variables. At 1, 3, and 6 months, 22%, 14%, and 13% of infant-mother pairs shared a bed, respectively. On multivariate analysis, race/ethnicity and breastfeeding seemed to have the strongest association with bed sharing. These factors need to be considered in any comprehensive risk to benefit analysis of bed sharing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Ohio/Mercy Children's Hospital, Toledo, Ohio, USA. rmccoy@mco.edu
authors.forename: Rosha Champion
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: McCoy
authors.forename: Carl E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Hunt
authors.forename: Samuel M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Lesko
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vezina
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Corwin
authors.forename: Marian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Willinger
authors.forename: Howard J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Hoffman
authors.forename: Allen A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Mitchell
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001509:Bed Occupancy; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006771:Hospitals, Maternity; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D010507:Periodicity; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013398:Sudden Infant Death / Q000209:etiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires