There are different schools of thought on baby sleep. In their review of the evidence on sleeping and crying, a group of Australian researchers identified two different philosophies:
The ‘intuitive parenting’ position. This philosophy holds that parents should respond intuitively to crying, feeding and sleeping. Active comforting (e.g. rocking and baby wearing) and bed-sharing are encouraged.
The ‘infant behaviour management’ position. This philosophy holds that babies’ behaviour can be influenced by how parents care for them. Babies’ sleep patterns can be shaped to avoid prolonged night-waking which can have a negative impact on families.
The problem from parents’ perspective is that these different philosophies can be passionately believed in and rigorously promoted. However in his book ‘The Origins, Prevention and Treatment of Infant Crying and Sleeping Problems’ the academic psychologist Ian St James-Roberts argues that there is no evidence that either an ‘infant demand’ or ‘limit setting’ approach can harm babies. Decisions should therefore be made on the basis of what works and feels right for each individual family.
THE 2 Schools of thought on baby sleep
INFANT BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT
One of the key planks of ‘infant behaviour management’ approaches is that once babies are able to fall to sleep by themselves at bedtime and/or when they wake in the night, they will be able to sleep for longer stretches. Some of the approaches which research studies have found to be associated with less waking at night are:
- Putting babies to bed drowsy but awake at least some of the time so they can learn to fall asleep by themselves
- Establishing a consistent bedtime routine so that babies learn to associate a series of events with going to sleep
- Encouraging babies to self-soothe, for instance by introducing an attachment object such as a comfort blanket or cuddly toy or letting them suck their hands
- Waiting a few moments before feeding babies at night when they wake up
Of course while all this sounds simple enough in theory, it can be tricky to put this advice into practice, as I see in the agonised discussions in my Early Days groups.