Application of a Socio-Ecological Model to Mother–Infant Bed-Sharing

Abstract

Mother–infant bed-sharing has been associated with an increased risk of sleep-related infant deaths, and thus, health messaging has aimed to discourage this behavior. Despite this messaging, bed-sharing remains a common practice in the United States, especially among minority families. Moreover, rates of accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed (often related to bed-sharing) are on the rise, with Black infants at two to three times greater risk than Whites. Multiple studies have identified risk factors for bed-sharing, but a gap remains between findings and translation into interventions. The socio-ecological model (SEM) has been suggested as a way to study and design interventions addressing complex public health issues. This article reconceptualizes the literature on mother–infant bed-sharing using the SEM. PubMed, POPLINE, ERIC, and Psych Info were searched for articles that (a) included bed-sharing as the outcome variable, (b) were published between 2000 and 2013, (c) were conducted in the United States, and (d) included quantitative comparison of more than one factor. The following data were extracted: sample characteristics, bed-sharing definition, methods, factors examined, key findings, and conclusions. Data were summarized into five SEM levels—infant, maternal, family and household, and community and society, nested within the historical context of race. Sixteen studies met inclusion criteria. Significant factors associated with bed-sharing were present within each SEM level of influence. Educational interventions may increase efficacy by attending to multiple levels of the SEM, especially when implementing such interventions within minority subpopulations. Using a harm reduction approach to reducing the risk around bed-sharing may be one way to account for the multiple influences on bed-sharing. The science and practice of minimizing mother–infant bed-sharing may be advanced through use of the SEM.