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Room-Sharing Without Bed-Sharing

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Abstract

Room-sharing without bed-sharing is perhaps the most controversial of the safe infant sleep recommendations, with many parents and clinicians alike resisting adherence. This chapter describes the controversies associated with the recommendation, the evidence base for the recommendation, and advice to clinicians about how to counsel parents, with attention to the potential barriers and suggestions about how to overcome them.

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Correspondence to Fern R. Hauck .

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Hauck, F.R. (2020). Room-Sharing Without Bed-Sharing. In: Moon, R. (eds) Infant Safe Sleep. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47542-0_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47542-0_6

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