Bed sharing more common among blacks, Hispanics

There was an increase in bed sharing from 1993 and 2010, especially among black and Hispanic families, according to recent study findings published in Pediatrics.

Researchers evaluated 18,986 caregivers of infants between 1993 and 2010 to identify trends and factors associated with bed sharing.

Eve R. Colson

Eleven percent of participants reported that bed sharing was a usual practice. From 1993 to 2010, bed sharing increased from 6.5% to 13.5% of participants. Among white participants, bed sharing increased significantly from 1993 to 2000 (P<.001), but not from 2001 to 2010 (P=.48). There was an increase throughout the study period for black (P=.63) and Hispanic participants (P=.77).

Level of education, income, demographics and infant age were all factors predicting a usual practice of bed sharing.

Forty-six percent of participants reported that they had spoken to a physician about bedsharing and those whose physicians’ had a negative attitude about bedsharing were less likely to do so (OR=0.66; 95% CI, 0.53-0.82), compared with those who did not talk to a physician about bed sharing. Participant whose physicians’ had a neutral attitude were more likely to bed share compared with those who did not talk to a physician. (OR=1.8; 95% CI, 1.05-1.80)

“The data may be useful in evaluating the impact of any broad intervention to change behavior,” the researchers wrote.

In an accompanying editorial, Abraham B. Bergman, MD, of the Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, wrote that evidence is lacking in the study regarding the link between bed sharing and infant death.

“Equal time in counseling should be given to the benefits of bed sharing, such as more sleep for the parent, easier breast-feeding when the infant is nearby, ease of pacifier reinsertion, and the intangible satisfaction of skin-to-skin contact,” he wrote. “In its admonition against bed sharing, the AAP has overreached.”

For more information:

Colson ER. JAMA Pediatr. 2013;doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2013.2560.

Bergman AB. JAMA Pediatr. 2013;doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2013.2569.

Disclosure: The study was funded in part by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.