Study Finds a Quarter of New Mothers Fall Asleep Unexpectedly While Breastfeeding

When parents share a bed with their infants, their risk of sudden infant death syndrome increases. However, a new study led by the University of Virginia has found that over a quarter of new mothers fall asleep while breastfeeding – many of them unexpectedly.

The authors drew from data on 1,259 new mothers who completed the Social Media and Risk-reduction Training survey from 2015-2016, with an average infant age of 11 weeks. According to their analysis, 28.2 percent of mothers said they, at minimum, “sometimes” fall asleep while breastfeeding. Among those who did fall asleep at least somewhat regularly, 83.4 percent said they did so unintentionally. The authors also found that mothers who breastfed in bed were more likely to fall asleep than those who breastfed on a chair or coach, at 33.6 percent and 16.8 percent, respectively.

Falling asleep while feeding was reported less frequently among mothers who had received sleep interventions. The authors believe their findings provide evidence of the importance of helping new parents develop plans for feeding when they are tired. They suggest future studies are needed to determine how to effectively teach parents about best practices for breastfeeding.