Abstract

ROLDAN-CHICANO, Mª Teresa et al. Intention of bed sharing during the postpartum period according to sociodemographic characteristics of the mother: What should professional nurses recommend?. Index Enferm [online]. 2009, vol.18, n.1, pp.8-12. ISSN 1699-5988.

Justification: Bed sharing is widely practised within different cultural environments, however different researches show contradicting results on the benefits and risks of parent-infant bed sharing. Objective: To determine the prevalence of the intention of bed sharing practice among mothers admitted to the maternity ward (immediate and intermediate postpartum period), and to relate this prevalence to their sociodemographic characteristics. Design-Methodology: Cross-sectional prevalence study conducted with a sample of 384 mothers: Spaniards, Moroccans and Ecuadorians. Chi-square test was used to examine the association among categorical variables. The statistical package employed to conduct the analysis was the SPSS v.13. Results and conclusions: 12% of questionnaired mothers, either sporadically or permanently, intended to bed share. Immigrant mothers and those having more children were whom mostly referred their intention of practising bed sharing within the domestic ambit. Comparing the results found with other studies it was pointed out the fact that some mothers eventually practise bed sharing even though they did not intend to, and without having received any advice from health professionals to implement it under acceptable safety conditions.

Keywords : Bed sharing; Cosleeping; Prevalence; Postpartum period; Nursing.