Every new parent wishes they could sleep more or sleep better. Co-sleeping can be beneficial for mother, baby and the rest of the family. I know I felt much more rested and had more energy for my other son, my home, and my husband when I co-slept. There are many benefits to co-sleeping and even some key safety tips. When you consider how helpless babies are at birth, co-sleeping just makes sense. Babies are biologically made to be close to their mothers! They are pre-engineered to survive, grow, and thrive on breast milk. Newborns are also born with very small bellies that require frequent feedings. All these needs are much easier to satisfy if the baby sleeps next to his mother. Furthermore, from an evolutionary perspective, among all mammals, humans are born very helpless and mature slowly. Thousands of years ago, a baby left to sleep alone was unlikely to survive for long. Keep in mind that co-sleeping is still practiced in many parts of the world, especially in Eastern countries. The Western movement pushing children to sleep alone and towards independence as a whole, I believe, is a sign of our shift from a collectivist culture to an individualistic culture. A lot is said about co-sleeping to the general public. We were warned that it is dangerous. We know that babies are dying of SIDS and have searched high and low for a cause. Everyone seems to want a clear and precise answer as to what happened to these children and I understand why. I think co-sleeping has been given a bad name because people need something to blame and not based on real scientific evidence. William Sears suggests that: “In those babies at risk of SIDS, natural mothering [unrestricted breastfeeding and sleep-sharing…middle of paper…helps us extend lifespan. Our babies, our bodies, and our families can reap the benefits of a happier, more rested mother-baby duo. Works Cited Christensen, Brittany. Personal interview. March 12, 2014. “Co-sleeping Safety.” PhD in Parenting. np January 11, 2009. Web. March 31, 2014. George, Melissa. Personal interview. March 12, 2014. McKenna, James J. “Guidelines for Safe Sleep.” Mother-Infant Behavioral Laboratory, University of Notre Dame. N.d. Web. March 22, 2014McKenna, James J. Joyce, Edmund P. "Cosleeping and Biological Imperatives: Why Babies Don't Sleep and Shouldn't Sleep Alone." Neuroanthropology.net. np December 21, 2008. Web. March 8, 2014Sears, William. Nighttime Parents How to Get Your Baby and Toddler to Sleep. Franklin Park, Illinois. Le Leche League International, 1990. Print.Quattlebaum, Amy. Personal interview. March 17 2014.