breastsleeping

English edit

Etymology 1 edit

Compound of breast +‎ sleeping. Coined by American biological anthropologist James J. McKenna in 2014.

Noun edit

breastsleeping (uncountable)

(medicine, neologism) The practice where a mother cosleeps with her baby while breastfeeding.
- 2017 March 14, Tamsin Kelly, quoting Charlotte Catton, “Breastsleeping: Is This How New Mums Can Get More Sleep?”, in The Huffington Post‎^[1], archived from the original on 2021-10-23:
  Chris sleeps right through while I put an arm around Tabitha while I'm feeding and keep the duvet down. I have woken up once or twice and panicked - that's what I don't like about breastsleeping. I stopped breastfeeding Henry around nine months. We had to do controlled crying so he would stay in his cot at night. It took four nights of screaming, which was horrific, but he's been an absolute dream ever since.
- 2018 June 5, Jennifer Woody Collins, “Fluid Materiality in Health Communication”, in Health Communication, volume 34, number 11, Hillsdale, N.J.: L. Erlbaum Associates, →DOI, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 1377, column 1:
  What if objects had an active role in shaping our health behaviors? Using my experience breastfeeding my baby, I explore this question through a journey from strict adherence to standard biomedical advice for safe infant sleep to heading the urgings of my body, specifically that of breastmilk, which I come to see as playing an agentic role in my practice of "breastsleeping."
- 2022 March 6, Darcia F. Narvaez, “Safe Infant Sleep and Breastfeeding Are Partners”, in Psychology Today‎^[2], New York, N.Y.: Sussex Publishers, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 4 May 2024:
  "Breastsleeping"—a combination of co-sleeping and breastfeeding— is our species' heritage.

Usage notes edit

The term has not been entirely accepted into medical language, and is sometimes used with scare quotes.

Etymology 2 edit

Verb edit

breastsleeping

present participle and gerund of breastsleep

References edit

Paul McFedries (1996–2024) “breastsleeping”, in Word Spy, Logophilia Limited.