Biocultural perspectives on infant sleep

Rudzik, Alanna E.F.; Tomori, Cecília; McKenna, James J.; Ball, Helen L.

Abstract

The chapter synthesizes research on infant sleep in biological and sociocultural anthropology. We first describe an early phase in which the evidence base was established to support the position that parent–infant sleep proximity and lactation are intertwined normative adaptations within human evolution. This argument challenged the biomedical pediatric focus of the time, which used Western formula-fed infants sleeping separately from their parents as the basis for ostensibly universal models of human infant sleep. The subsequent phase of biological anthropology research advanced the understanding of parent–infant sleep and night-time care by incorporating behavioral ecology, hormonal measures, and parent–infant conflict theory. The impact of these two phases of research has extended beyond academia to influence policy and practice in the US, UK, and beyond. The focus on infant sleep within sociocultural anthropology has a more recent history. This research situates the biomedicalization of infant sleep within Western cultural frames that emphasize infant independence and the regimentation of maternal and infant bodies. We highlight ethnographic findings that maternal–infant shared sleep while breastfeeding is a cultural and embodied norm. Although cultural assumptions about the safety and suitability of sleep proximity remain, integrated anthropological approaches to infant sleep have the potential to contribute to maternal–infant health and well-being.

Citation

Rudzik, A. E., Tomori, C., McKenna, J. J., & Ball, H. L. (2021). Biocultural perspectives on infant sleep. In S. Han, & C. Tomori (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Anthropology and Reproduction. Routledge

• Online Publication Date: Nov 1, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021
• Deposit Date: Oct 28, 2021
• Publisher: Routledge
• Book Title: The Routledge Handbook of Anthropology and Reproduction
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1652450
• Publisher URL: https://www.routledge.com/The-Routledge-Handbook-of-Anthropology-and-Reproduction/Han-Tomori/p/book/9780367278366
• Contract Date: Jun 1, 2021