Nursing Baby to Sleep

 

Newborns will practically always fall asleep once their belly is full. As babies get older, though, mothers have more say in whether they let them fall asleep while breastfeeding. Are there problems associated with nursing a baby to sleep? What benefits does it offer?

Competing Positions

Perspective #1: Getting into a habit of nursing your baby to sleep is fraught with potential problems. For one thing, if he develops a habit of nursing to fall asleep, he could wake up in the night needing to nurse at every little arousal. Instead, he needs to learn to self-soothe. Also, babies who fall asleep at the breast may become distraught when they wake up in a different environment, alone. You should therefore rouse your infant before putting him down.

Perspective #2: Nursing your baby to sleep provides the closeness that’s so crucial for bonding. It’s a memorable, soothing, and sleep-inducing experience, typical in cultures all over the world. It’s not abnormal, not some sort of bad habit that you’d be creating.

What the Science Says

THERE ARE TWO key points to emphasize here. First of all, whatever you decide about actually nursing your child to sleep, make sure that he’s nursing at some point in the evening. The research shows that nighttime breast milk contains nutrients that aid in sleep and are vital for your baby’s physical and cognitive development. Tryptophan, for instance, is a sleep-inducing amino acid, and evening breast milk contains a greater amount than milk accessed during the day. Also, tryptophan is “a precursor to serotonin, a vital hormone for brain function and development. In early life, tryptophan ingestion leads to more serotonin receptor development.” This serotonin leads not only to more favorable sleep-wake cycles but also to improved brain function and elevated mood. What’s more, even the act of sucking results in the release of a hormone called cholecystokinin in both mother and baby, producing a feeling of sleepiness.

Rousing your baby before putting him down in the evenings won’t rob him of any of these benefits. This research simply speaks to the importance of nighttime breastfeeding.

But is there anything wrong with allowing babies to fall asleep at the breast? The AAP weighs in with a resounding yes, warning mothers not to nurse their babies to sleep because doing so can create unhealthy sleep patterns. The same goes for allowing infants to doze off while drinking from a bottle. The concern, according to the AAP, is that babies will get the message that they’re unable to go to sleep without drinking milk. Parents should therefore “try not to use the breast or bottle as a sleep pacifier.”

The AAP’s position is based on a good deal of evidence. Some sleep experts even consider falling asleep while breastfeeding a sleep disorder, since it causes problems with babies waking in the middle of the night, unable to return to sleep. Studies have consistently found that babies who are put into the crib already asleep are more likely to wake up and need to be comforted to return to sleep, whereas those who are put to bed still awake are typically better at self-soothing and going back to sleep without parental assistance.

It’s worth noting, however, that many researchers and other authorities worry about the physiological and psychological toll on upset babies who aren’t comforted because their parents are following rigid, strictly imposed sleep-training (or other parenting) methods. One scholar writes that “typically, babies don’t adjust to such regimens without experiencing transitional distress. And even those who advocate sleep training for babies warn that ‘cry it out’ methods are inappropriate for babies less than 6 months.”

The Bottom Line

THE MAIN SCIENCE available on this question has to do with how bedtime breastfeeding might affect the baby’s (and thus the parent’s) wake-sleep cycle. This research does support the claim that nursing babies to sleep can delay or interfere with their ability to develop good sleep habits. However, other factors are at play. You might decide that the joy, intimacy, and peacefulness of nursing your baby to sleep outweigh the risk of getting less sleep due to more frequent nighttime wakings. Or that since it’s the quickest way to get your baby to sleep, it allows you more time for self-care, or to have time with your other kids or your partner, and that it works best for you and your baby.

You may feel that nursing your baby to sleep for the first few months is the best way to go, particularly if you have a really sleepy child who’s difficult to wake after nursing. You may at some point decide to nurse mostly to sleep, then rouse your baby slightly so that he’s making the final transition to sleep by himself, and you incrementally work toward the goal of his falling asleep from an awake state. Just remember that you may need to keep revising what works best in your home, to get the most amount of sleep for everyone concerned.