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Observer
2 days ago
- Health
- Observer
Sharing a bed with Your Kid? It's normal in Asia
SINGAPORE — In the United States and some other Western countries, many parents wince at the idea of sharing a bed with their young child regularly. But in other places, long-term bed sharing through infancy, toddlerhood, and beyond is seen as totally normal. For many families in Asia, in particular, the question is not whether to do it, but when to stop. How and where young children sleep is a big deal for the whole family. It can have implications for an infant's safety and a child's development. It can also affect parental sleep, intimacy, and mental health, and can influence how families configure their homes. In South Korea, many parents bed share because they want to savor a close relationship with young children 'who one day won't need them anymore,' said Inae Kim, an office manager in Seoul. She sleeps in two adjacent king-size beds with her husband and their two girls, ages 5 and 7. 'They want to enjoy the moment,' Kim, 40, said over an iced latte in her high-rise apartment complex. Though her girls slept in cribs until they were 6 months old, they've grown up bed sharing with their parents. In the West, and especially in the United States, bed sharing tends to be unpopular and contentious. That is partly because the American Academy of Pediatrics and other experts warn that it can be unsafe for infants 6 months of age or younger. Many Western parents put infants to sleep in cribs or beds in a separate room — often using a practice known as 'sleep training,' in which infants are taught to sleep independently. Modern ideas about separating mothers and babies at night have their roots in campaigns by 'Victorian-era influencers' in Britain and the United States, according to 'How Babies Sleep,' a book published this year by anthropologist Helen Ball. Even though there isn't much scientific literature on bed sharing, studies generally show that the practice is far more common in Asia than in the West. (Other regions where bed sharing is popular, including Latin America, aren't as well studied, experts say.) One multicountry survey of parents of infants and toddlers from 2010 found that bed-sharing rates were more than 60% in China, Japan and South Korea, and more than 70% in India and parts of Southeast Asia. The rates in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States ranged from 5% to 15%. Country-level studies since then have broadly reinforced some of those findings, although a 2015 survey in the United States found that 37% of mothers 'rarely or sometimes' bed shared and 24% of them 'often or always' did. Bed-sharing rates in the West may be higher than such figures suggest because stigma around the practice linked to safety concerns in infancy leads some parents to underreport it, said Ball, the director of an infancy and sleep center at Durham University in Britain. 'I think bed sharing is a much more normal strategy than Westerners recognize,' she said. In parts of Asia, motivations for bed sharing vary by place and by family. Some are extremely practical. Some parents in Seoul, a city where many families live in high-rises, share beds with infants because they worry that putting them would lead to crying and wake the neighbors, Kim said. In Hong Kong, where apartments are notoriously small, many families don't have extra rooms to put their children in, said Vicky Tsang, who runs breastfeeding support groups in the Chinese territory. She said it is common for bed sharing to last through primary school. 'The space problem is a big factor,' she said. But practical considerations don't always fully explain why bed sharing is popular. In some Asian societies, many couples prioritize the mother-child bond over their own sleep health and marital relationships, said Heejung Park, a professor of psychology at Scripps College in California who has studied bed sharing in the region. In other cases, parents who grew up in bed-sharing households can't imagine a different sleeping arrangement. 'It's so common that no one thinks, 'Is it uncommon?' ' said Erin Lim, 39, an entrepreneur in Seoul who grew up in a household where three generations slept in the same room. Lim said that she stopped sharing a bed with her older son when he was 4, and with her younger son when he was 2. Now the boys are 9 and 5, and they have their room. But she still keeps a small bed in her bedroom for if — and when — they wander back in. In India, the cultural attachment to bed sharing is so deep that it tends to persist even among urban elites who are exposed to 'Western sleep training culture,' said Himani Dalmia, a sleep specialist in New Delhi who runs a support group for parents and shares a bed with her children, 7 and 9. She said she sometimes gets calls from Indian parents abroad who can't find the sleep advice they're looking for. 'Look,' they tell her. 'We want to bed share, and we can't talk to anyone here about that.' One apparent exception in the region is Singapore, a wealthy city-state where reported bed-sharing rates are lower than in other East and Southeast Asian countries. Sleep training seems to be increasingly popular there, and some Singaporean parents are reluctant to admit to bed sharing, said Elaine Chow, the president of a local breastfeeding support group. 'Sometimes, if they do mention it, they will mention it kind of guiltily,' she said. Ho Kin Ing, who shares a bed in Singapore with her three girls — 2, 3, and 6 — said that she and her husband once felt significant social pressure to sleep train as they browsed online parenting forums. 'I had a lot of influence and information, and not a lot of intuition,' Ho, 33, said during an interview in her high-rise apartment. 'But I guess that, over the years, that intuition part started to strengthen a little bit.' Her husband, Tan Peng Yong, 37, said they didn't regret choosing to bed share. 'To be woken up by your kids is one of the best feelings ever,' he said, sitting next to a toy bus and a Mrs. Potato Head doll. 'Even when they hit you in the face.' Social pressure around sleeping arrangements can cut the other way, too. In some East Asian societies, choosing not to bed share can be seen as 'harsh parenting,' Park said. In her study on sleeping habits in Japan, some mothers said they felt compelled to do it to conform to social norms around maternal responsibility. Kim knows the feeling. She sleeps better without her kids in the bed, she said. But her husband insists on family bed sharing because he sees it as essential for a close relationship with his daughters. Some of Kim's friends have children who stayed in the family bed until age 12, even at the expense of their parents' sleep quality and sex lives. That would be too much for her, she said. So she and her husband have decided that their girls will move into what is now their playroom in about two years. Whether that will happen on schedule is an open question. The plan is to install bunk beds, Kim said with a laugh, but neither girl wants to sleep on top. 'It's kind of scary to think about falling off,' she said. This article originally appeared in
Boston Globe
16-07-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
Mass. shouldn't rely on RFK Jr.'s appointees for vaccine advice
Advertisement Massachusetts has historically used the federal recommendations to determine what shots to include in the state's Vaccine Purchase Trust Fund, which bulk buys all routine childhood vaccines and distributes them to providers. The state is reimbursed by private insurance and by a federal program that pays for vaccines for children who are uninsured or on Medicaid. This system ensures every child receives free vaccines, regardless of insurance. Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up But relying on Washington's judgment now seems unwise. In June, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine skeptic, abruptly fired ACIP's members and appointed a new slate, many of whom lack expertise in vaccines and Kennedy also bypassed the typical scientific review process when he recently eliminated a recommendation that healthy pregnant women and children get the COVID-19 vaccine. Medical organizations, led by the American Academy of Pediatrics, Advertisement That lawsuit is ongoing, but states don't have to wait to protect their residents. This month, in a Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein told the editorial board that under Healey's proposal, state experts would assess the various recommendations that are out there — for example, the American Academy of Pediatrics's childhood vaccine schedule — and adopt those recommendations they believe to be science- and evidence-based. The main practical impact would be in requiring the Vaccine Purchase Trust Fund to rely on state, not federal, guidance. For example, if ACIP stops recommending giving the hepatitis B vaccine at birth (a recommendation that's Looking ahead, state officials could choose to rely on state, rather than federal, recommendations in determining what vaccines are required for school attendance. State recommendations could affect what vaccines insurers cover. Increasingly, a lack of trust in federal health officials is becoming a bipartisan problem. Having guidance from state health officials could also increase public confidence in vaccine recommendations among residents skeptical of federal authorities. Advertisement 'Public confidence in the recommendations of public health officials, whether about vaccines or other health behaviors, is only as good as the public's sense of those recommendations being trustworthy, being expert, and being apolitical,' said Carlene Pavlos, executive director of the Massachusetts Public Health Alliance. State recommendations would also give physicians an authoritative source they could use in their practice and in speaking to patients. 'In the absence of timely ACIP guidance, we need a credible, transparent alternative that pediatricians and institutions can trust,' said Everett Lamm, co-chair of the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics Immunization Initiative. Lamm said pediatricians today are overwhelmed and are seeking guidance on vaccine-related issues that have become politicized. In an ideal world, vaccine recommendations would continue being made by an independent, unbiased US government committee of experts, allowing for uniformity across states and insurers. A regulatory patchwork can create problems, and there's no guarantee that an individual state's regulatory bodies won't become as politicized as the current federal administration. But even with those risks, if the federal government's vaccine-related apparatus can no longer be trusted, giving more authority to the state makes sense. Editorials represent the views of the Boston Globe Editorial Board. Follow us
The Herald Scotland
16-07-2025
- Health
- The Herald Scotland
HHS removes LGBTQ+ 'gender ideology' from teen pregnancy program
"This is a seismic change," said Adrian Shanker, the former deputy assistant secretary for health policy under President Joe Biden. "This is a program that has been effective at keeping teens across the country from getting pregnant, so this should be a universally appreciated goal." The Department of Health and Human Services policy, announced in a July 1 memo to grantees, bans grant-funded programs from teaching about sex that is not heterosexual vaginal intercourse. It also bans "the eroticization of birth control methods" and bans any content on creating more pleasurable sexual experiences. The policy goes on to prohibit any discussion of youth experiencing gender dysphoria or expressing transgender identities. "The statute does not require, support, or authorize teaching minors about (ideological) content, including the radical ideological claim that boys can identify as girls and vice versa," the memo to grant recipients says. "Programs must be aimed at reducing teen pregnancy, not instructing in such ideological content." Public health experts say the move could further stigmatize LGBTQ+ youth, who have higher rates of teen pregnancy than their heterosexual peers, and often feel less comfortable speaking to parents or health care providers about sex. Emily Hilliard, the press secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement that the new policy "ensures that taxpayer dollars no longer support content that undermines parental rights, promotes radical gender ideology, or exposes children to sexually explicit material under the banner of public health." Corina T. Lelutiu-Weinberger, an associate professor of health sciences research at Columbia University in New York, said teen pregnancy rates are already disproportionately high among bisexual girls, so making it harder to talk about their sexual behavior puts them at higher risk. A 2018 study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics found that bisexual girls had "nearly five times the risk of teen pregnancy, and those who identified as mostly heterosexual or lesbian had about twice the risk compared to teens who were completely heterosexual." Most of the disparity was explained by physical, emotional or sexual abuse. Lelutiu-Weinberger said youth tend to figure out their sexuality alone because they don't want to talk about it with their parents. She said LGBTQ+ people also tend to have a harder time talking about sex with health care providers, who often are not comfortable about talking about sex, or may have their own biases. "There is a lot of discomfort and mislabeling and often there are no conversations," Lelutiu-Weinberger said. "And both parties are uncomfortable bringing it up because of fear of stigma." Amelia Stanton, a Boston University professor and investigator for the Sexual, Reproductive and Mental Health Disparities Program, said the changes don't align with science or promote the best interest of public health. "If we're limiting that information, we're not offering tools for planning," Stanton said. "We're not offering the opportunity to really learn how to prevent STIs or how to have agency in sexual activity." Stanton said heterosexual intercourse might align more with traditional values, but failing to teach kids about oral sex, anal sex and other sexual behavior that carries risk for sexually transmitted infections will cause the rates of those infections to increase. Nearly half the nation's cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis in 2023 were reported in people 15 to 24, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Infections were disproportionately high among men who had sex with men. Shanker, the former Biden aide, said that Congress created the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program in 2010 under President Barack Obama to replace an abstinence-only sex education model in place under President George W. Bush. "We have a comprehensive program that's highly effective, and they're tinkering with it for political purposes instead of trying to achieve public health results for the American people," Shanker said.
NBC News
15-07-2025
- Health
- NBC News
GLP-1 weight loss drug use among kids surges
After the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended the use of certain GLP-1 weight loss drugs in January of 2023, the use among children skyrocketed by 65% immediately and has continued to grow since. NBC News' Kate Snow has more on what age experts say these drugs can be used by children.
USA Today
15-07-2025
- Health
- USA Today
'A seismic change': Trump wants LGBTQ+ material axed from sex ed
The federal Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program serves more than 300,000 youth. The Trump administration is telling organizations working to prevent teen pregnancy that they must stop teaching content that doesn't align with the administration's views on transgender people and parental rights or they'll risk losing their federal funding. Seventy-three organizations – including local health departments, community groups and universities – receive a portion of the $101 million budget for the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program each year. The groups serve more than 300,000 youth, mostly in school settings. "This is a seismic change," said Adrian Shanker, the former deputy assistant secretary for health policy under President Joe Biden. "This is a program that has been effective at keeping teens across the country from getting pregnant, so this should be a universally appreciated goal." The Department of Health and Human Services policy, announced in a July 1 memo to grantees, bans grant-funded programs from teaching about sex that is not heterosexual vaginal intercourse. It also bans 'the eroticization of birth control methods' and bans any content on creating more pleasurable sexual experiences. The policy goes on to prohibit any discussion of youth experiencing gender dysphoria or expressing transgender identities. "The statute does not require, support, or authorize teaching minors about (ideological) content, including the radical ideological claim that boys can identify as girls and vice versa," the memo to grant recipients says. "Programs must be aimed at reducing teen pregnancy, not instructing in such ideological content." Public health experts say the move could further stigmatize LGBTQ+ youth, who have higher rates of teen pregnancy than their heterosexual peers, and often feel less comfortable speaking to parents or health care providers about sex. Emily Hilliard, the press secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement that the new policy 'ensures that taxpayer dollars no longer support content that undermines parental rights, promotes radical gender ideology, or exposes children to sexually explicit material under the banner of public health.' Corina T. Lelutiu-Weinberger, an associate professor of health sciences research at Columbia University in New York, said teen pregnancy rates are already disproportionately high among bisexual girls, so making it harder to talk about their sexual behavior puts them at higher risk. A 2018 study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics found that bisexual girls had 'nearly five times the risk of teen pregnancy, and those who identified as mostly heterosexual or lesbian had about twice the risk compared to teens who were completely heterosexual.' Most of the disparity was explained by physical, emotional or sexual abuse. Lelutiu-Weinberger said youth tend to figure out their sexuality alone because they don't want to talk about it with their parents. She said LGBTQ+ people also tend to have a harder time talking about sex with health care providers, who often are not comfortable about talking about sex, or may have their own biases. 'There is a lot of discomfort and mislabeling and often there are no conversations,' Lelutiu-Weinberger said. 'And both parties are uncomfortable bringing it up because of fear of stigma.' Amelia Stanton, a Boston University professor and investigator for the Sexual, Reproductive and Mental Health Disparities Program, said the changes don't align with science or promote the best interest of public health. 'If we're limiting that information, we're not offering tools for planning,' Stanton said. 'We're not offering the opportunity to really learn how to prevent STIs or how to have agency in sexual activity.' Stanton said heterosexual intercourse might align more with traditional values, but failing to teach kids about oral sex, anal sex and other sexual behavior that carries risk for sexually transmitted infections will cause the rates of those infections to increase. Nearly half the nation's cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis in 2023 were reported in people 15 to 24, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Infections were disproportionately high among men who had sex with men. Shanker, the former Biden aide, said that Congress created the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program in 2010 under President Barack Obama to replace an abstinence-only sex education model in place under President George W. Bush. 'We have a comprehensive program that's highly effective, and they're tinkering with it for political purposes instead of trying to achieve public health results for the American people,' Shanker said.
