It’s natural for babies to fall asleep while breastfeeding, but “natural” doesn’t mean free from complications. Here, we discuss the advantages and potential disadvantages linked to breastfeeding a baby to sleep.
Is it a good idea to breastfeed a baby to sleep? Why not, you may wonder, for what can be more natural than breastfeeding an infant, even if it’s before
bedtime. However, not everyone agrees with this, for there have been claims that nursing a baby to sleep may cause feeding problems, sleeping issues, etc.
The fact is, it works for some babies and may not work out well for others. Breastfeeding a baby to sleep has advantages, but there can also be disadvantages. It’s up to you to decide what’s best for baby and you.
Advantages
- It is a quick and easy way to get your baby to fall asleep, provided of course that the little one is already sleepy and has gotten used to falling asleep while on the breast.
- Your baby will fall asleep without crying or fussing.
- It’s comforting and soothing for a baby to fall asleep with mommy so close by.
- You do not need to get up or hold a baby to breastfeed him, especially if you’re already sleeping.
- It’s easy and convenient – Once your baby has fallen asleep, you’ll know for he’ll just stop suckling completely and your nipple will slide out of the little one’s mouth.
- Promotes bonding between baby and mom, even if it’s just till baby falls asleep.
Note: The digestive hormone called Cholecystokinin is released when food from the stomach reaches the first part of the small intestine. It causes the sensation of drowsiness in young babies, regardless if they’re breast or formula-fed. Hence they have a natural tendency to fall asleep while feeding.
An inevitable association
Repeatedly breastfeeding your baby to sleep will encourage him to develop a breastfeeding-sleep association; regardless of whether this is your intention or not. This means he learns to psychologically link the act of falling asleep with suckling at your breast.
Disadvantages
The following are ways in which nursing your baby to sleep might affect your baby’s feeding and sleeping patterns and behavior.
- Frequent demand for feedings – beyond what you might expect: Once your baby associates falling asleep with suckling at your breast, he will appear hungry and seek to breastfeed whenever he’s tired and ready to sleep in addition to times of hunger.
- Attempts to ‘stretch out’ the time between feedings are unlikely to succeed because he will become increasingly more upset owing to tiredness if he’s not offered your breast. A breastfeeding-sleep association can also make it hard for you to tell the difference between your baby’s hunger and tired cues.
- Prolonged feeds: Your baby may want to remain firmly attached to your breast until he’s deeply asleep. Breastfeeds can appear to be prolonged, possibly up to an hour or longer, depending on how long it takes for him to fall deeply asleep.
- Your baby may not even actively feed the entire time he’s attached to your breast; rather he will spend much of this time comfort sucking as he drifts off to sleep.
- If you try to remove your baby before he’s deeply asleep, he may sense this, wakefully, and immediately search for your breast again. Note that this is not necessarily because of unsatisfied hunger, but rather because he’s not yet deeply asleep.
- If during light sleep your baby senses that he’s no longer attached to your breast, he’s at risk of waking prematurely… still tired.
- If you don’t offer your breast when your baby is ready to sleep, he’s likely to remain awake despite being fatigued. The longer you delay offering him your breast the greater the risk of him becoming distressed owing to overtiredness.
- Excessive night feeds: You might find that once your baby is 4 months old he starts to wake more often during the night, possibly every hour or two, wanting to be breastfed back to sleep.
The reason behind some prolonged night feeds
Most healthy, thriving babies no longer require nighttime feedings from around the age of 6 months. However, a baby who relies on breastfeeding as a way to fall asleep is likely to continue to demand frequent breastfeeds during the night long after the time that he reaches the stage where he no longer requires night feedings. He may continue to demand frequent feedings at night for as long as he associates falling asleep with suckling at his mother’s breast.
Article adapted from www.babycareadvice.com
