Infant sleeping arrangements and cultural values among contemporary Japanese mothers

Abstract

We examined infant sleeping arrangements and cultural values of Japanese mothers in 2008 and 2009. Based on Greenfield's theory of social change and human development, we predicted that social change in Japan over the last decades (higher economic and education level, urbanization, complex technology, more women in the work force) would lead to a decline in mother-infant co-sleeping, compared with published findings concerning Japanese sleeping arrangements in the 1960s and 1980s. We also predicted that the practice of having babies sleep in their own beds and/or own rooms would be supported by ethnotheories stressing infant independence and other values adaptive in an urban, technologically sophisticated, relatively wealthy, and highly educated populace. Fifty-one Japanese mothers' comments posted on Internet parenting forums were analyzed. Contrary to our hypothesis, co-sleeping was as frequent among Japanese mothers in 2008-2009 as it had been in the 1960s and 1980s. However, analysis of the values of co-sleeping mothers revealed frequent discrepancies between values and practices. In contrast, the minority of mothers whose babies slept alone in a separate room all expressed consonant values. Our qualitative analysis indicates that it is not always easy for Japanese mothers to construct values for child rearing and gender roles that integrate traditional infant care practices with current sociodemographic conditions.

Infant Suffocation Incidents Related to Co-Sleeping or Breastfeeding in the Side-Lying Position in Japan

“…In this study, more than 80% of mothers were cosleeping which was similar to findings reported by previous surveys conducted in Japan (Iwata et al 2013;Shimizu et al 2014). This supports the conclusion that co-sleeping is widely practiced in Japan.…”

“…In Japan, infants and mothers co-sleep as part of common practice since ancient times, and mothers and infants usually sleep in the face-to-face position. As of 2008-2009, at least 70% of infants in Japan reportedly co-sleep with their parents (Shimizu et al 2014). In addition, breastfeeding in the side-lying position, while co-sleeping is commonly practiced as it is comfortable for both the mother and the child and allows the mother to easily observe the infant's condition (Ball 2002).…”

Identification of Emotional Facial Expressions: Effects of Expression, Intensity, and Sex on Eye Gaze

“…Where we failed to observe predicted effects, we followed this up by computing a Bayes factor (http://www.lifesci.sussex.ac.uk/home/Zoltan_Dienes/inference/Bayes.htm) to assess the strength of the evidence supporting the null hypothesis [62]. …”

Beyond practices and values: toward a physio-bioecological analysis of sleeping arrangements in early infancy

“…Besides being a recurring practical question for parents, co-sleeping is a perennial academic issue as well. Hence, Shimizu et al's ( 2014 ) aim to examine “parenting practices and underlying cultural values of Japanese mothers” (p. 8) related to sleeping arrangements is timely and valuable. The authors predicted that mother-infant co-sleeping would decline from the 1960–1980s to 2008–2009 due to modern parents adhering to values that are more adaptive in an educated, urban, technologically and economically advanced society that has higher female participation in the workforce.…”