If you’ve ever found yourself half-asleep, nursing your baby for the fifth time in a night, you already know that feeding and sleep are deeply connected. They’re not two separate tasks you can check off. Rather they’re woven together, especially in the early months.
And for a lot of families, that means sleep often happens in close proximity. Whether it’s a sidecar crib, a floor bed, or full-on bedsharing, parents are figuring out what actually works- not just what the guidelines say should work.
A new 2025 systematic review published in Breastfeeding Medicine dug into this exact topic: how bedsharing affects breastfeeding. It looked at 24 studies and found that in the majority of them, bedsharing was linked with increased breastfeeding success– both in terms of how long parents breastfed and how exclusively.
This isn’t just interesting, it’s important! Because if breastfeeding is something we value (and say we want to support), then we need to understand how nighttime sleep arrangements play a role. And spoiler alert: they do.
Let’s look at the actual numbers:
Out of 24 studies reviewed:
- 11 were longitudinal, meaning they followed families over time- 73% of these found a positive correlation between bedsharing and breastfeeding duration or exclusivity.
- 13 were cross-sectional, meaning they looked at data from one point in time- 69% of these also found a positive link.
That’s nearly three out of four studies showing that when babies sleep close to their parents, breastfeeding is more likely to happen and to continue.
So we’re not just talking about something parents feel is true—we’re talking about something that’s been observed over and over again in the research.
Why this matters: Breastfeeding reduces SIDS.
One of the strongest and most consistent protective factors against SIDS is breastfeeding. A major meta-analysis published in Pediatrics found that:
- Any breastfeeding is associated with a 50% reduction in SIDS risk.
- Exclusive breastfeeding for at least 2 months drops that risk by up to 73%.⁽²⁾
So if breastfeeding protects against SIDS, and bedsharing supports breastfeeding… how does it make sense to tell parents never to bedshare?
It doesn’t.
What’s more accurate (and more helpful) is this: bedsharing can be done safely, especially among breastfeeding mothers.
What safe bedsharing looks like
Safe bedsharing means:
- No smoking, drugs, or alcohol.
- A firm, flat sleep surface.
- Baby on their back.
- Only breastfeeding mothers in the bed- no siblings, pets, or soft bedding.
And it means being intentional about the setup, not just falling asleep accidentally on the couch or in a recliner (which are genuinely high-risk scenarios).
Dr. James McKenna’s work at the Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Lab and Dr. Helen Ball’s research⁽³⁾ have consistently shown that breastfeeding dyads who bedshare in a planned, safe environment actually sleep in coordinated ways—with the baby staying in a protective position near the breast, away from pillows or covers, and waking frequently (which is protective in itself). If you are in need of more information about how to safely bedshare, make sure to read this blog post.
So why are we still telling parents not to bedshare?
Because blanket advice is easier than nuance. But easier isn’t better.
When we shame or scare parents out of bedsharing—without giving them realistic tools or safer alternatives—we often end up sabotaging breastfeeding. And undermining breastfeeding means increasing risk, not reducing it.
The bigger picture
Feeding and sleep aren’t separate issues. They’re intertwined. And for many mothers, safe bedsharing is the only way that breastfeeding feels manageable– especially in the early months, when feeding can happen 8, 10, 12 times a night.
If public health messaging is serious about reducing SIDS, then it needs to stop treating bedsharing and breastfeeding as enemies. Because the truth is, they support each other. And ignoring that does families a disservice.
Let’s move toward harm reduction, not fear. Let’s support parents where they are- tired, loving, doing their best- and give them the information they need to make safe, sustainable choices.
References:
- Wolf, R. L., Skobic, I., Pope, B. T., Zhu, A., Chamas, H., Sharma, N., Larsen, K., Bright, H. & Haynes, P. L. (2025). Mother–Infant Bed-sharing Is Associated with Increased Breastfeeding: A Systematic Review. Breastfeeding Medicine, 20(4), 205-218, doi: 10.1089/bfm.2024.0060
- Thompson JMD, et al. (2017). Breastfeeding and the Risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: A Meta-analysis. Pediatrics.
- McKenna JJ & Ball HL. (2007). Mother–infant cosleeping, breastfeeding and SIDS: What biological anthropology has discovered about normal infant sleep. American Journal of Physical Anthropology.
