Many families have heard that one way to prevent the risk of SIDS, along with placing babies on their backs to sleep, is to share a room (but not sleep surface) with their young baby for the first six months of life. The most recent position from the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends room-sharing with an infant for one year. However, maintaining room-sharing for one year can be challenging for some families. Further, some studies indicate that babies moved to a separate room sometime after 4 months have better sleep consolidation and longer sleep stretches in infancy and toddlerhood. Plus, mothers who wake up less frequently overnight may be more likely to breastfeed for a longer period overall.
Read more in The New York Times article by Dr. Perri Klass.