As a Certified Breastfeeding Counselor (CBC), you will be asked about all things breastfeeding and babies. Many parents find breastfeeding to sleep works great, but they hear it’s a “bad habit” and they need to avoid doing it. As a CBC familiar with typical breastfeeding physiology, you can encourage parents that if they want to use breastfeeding to sleep, it is perfectly okay to do so.
Helping parents find manageable ways to meet their baby’s nutritional needs as well as find ways to get rest is important. While our modern lifestyles can make it difficult to follow innate breastfeeding patterns, we can often find a balance that allows for a healthy breastfeeding relationship.
Many parents are warned not to use breastfeeding to sleep as it will make their baby dependent, too hard for others to put to sleep, or “spoil” their baby. As a CBC, you can help assure parents that it is biologically normal and okay to breastfeed to sleep. It is also okay if they do not want to do so, but they should not feel pressured to skip an easy bedtime option when it is biologically normal.
I often tell parents that we do not worry about our babies becoming dependent on diapers. We use diapers because it is developmentally normal for them to lack the ability to control their bladder and bowels. In the same, it is biologically normal for newborns and young infants to use support to fall asleep. Just like potty training, babies are ready at different ages to tackle solo sleep.
Why it’s okay to encourage clients who choose breastfeeding to sleep:
Breastfeeding to Sleep is Great For Milk Supply
Babies who breastfeed to sleep are more likely to spend extra time at the breast. This can help ensure an adequate milk supply is established, especially in early infancy. This can be especially helpful for breastfeeding parents who work or need to spend some feeds away from baby and only pumping.
Being able to breastfeed baby to sleep for a nap or for bedtime can be a great way to increase supply. This is also helpful for older infants who tend to be distracted during the day, especially once mobile.
Supports Brain Development
Infant brain development is influenced in many ways. Not breastfeeding to sleep is not going to inherently hinder their brain development. However, breastfeeding to sleep is a way to aid in overall infant brain development.
When baby’s are skin-to-skin, close with a parent, and engaging in a safe and positive way, there’s positive social and emotional learning. When baby’s are safe and relaxed, they are also releasing oxytocin. Any positive interactions we have with our babies is a great way to aid in infant brain development.
When parents worry about their baby becoming too clingy, developing bad habits, etc., you can reassure them that feeding their baby to sleep is actually beneficial for their development.
Babies Are Intelligent and Adapt
One major concern about breastfeeding to sleep is parents worry others will struggle to put baby to sleep. While a baby is fairly hardwired to be close with their lactating parent, they are extremely intelligent and can build relationships with others.
A baby can breastfeed to sleep most nights and still happily adapt to being rocked or patted by dad or another caregiver. Just as many babies learn to breastfeed, take a bottle, use a pacifier, and eat solids, they can learn to breastfeed to sleep with their lactating parent and fall asleep with others in a different way.
Breastfeeding to Sleep Throughout the Night Is Not Bad – It’s Biologically Normal!
Young infants wake throughout the night for a variety of reasons. While it can be daunting, it is biologically normal. For the youngest infants, they need nourishment throughout the night to consume enough calories and hydration. For older infants there are developmental leaps, learning about object permanence, etc.
When a baby wakes, it is perfectly okay, and sometimes necessary, to breastfeed them back to sleep. This ensures they are getting adequate calories as well as helping everyone get back to sleep sooner.
When Should Parents NOT Breastfeed to Sleep?
Once a baby is growing well, if breastfeeding to sleep becomes a problem for the parents, it is okay to use alternative sources of comfort. It is perfectly okay to breastfeed to sleep until the baby weans, whether at year or into toddlerhood.
However, if breastfeeding to sleep no longer works for a parent or child, becomes too disruptive, it is fine for parents to choose other ways to help baby rest.
Ultimately, it is important for families to choose what works for them, while understanding it is okay and biologically normal to allow babies to breastfeed to sleep.