bed-sharing

noun

bed-shar·​ing ˈbed-ˌsher-iŋ 

variants or bed sharing

: the practice of sleeping in the same bed with one's child

Now the practice of bed sharing appears to be coming back into favor again—and a close look at the science suggests that the context in which parents do it, and the choices they make beforehand, matter a lot in terms of safety.

—Melinda Wenner Moyer

More and more parents are sleeping next to their infants—the percentage of bed-sharing babies has more than doubled in recent years …

—Karen Springen

compare co-sleeping

bed-share

ˈbed-ˌsher 

intransitive verb

or bed share

bed-shared or bed shared; bed-sharing or bed sharing; bed-shares or bed shares

Studies have found that the risk of SIDS [sudden infant death syndrome] increases anywhere from two to tenfold when parents bed-share, depending on the bed-sharing situation and the age of the baby.

—Jessica Pauline Ogilvie

Word History

First Known Use

1968, in the meaning defined above