I appreciated the maternal-infant co-sleeping debate by Mesich (Jan/Feb 2005 MCN), but I would note that the authors discussed the issue within the context of North American culture. In many, if not most, non-Western cultures, co-sleeping is the norm. When my own son was born in Tokyo nearly 20 years ago, my nursing faculty colleagues there let me know that to them, the Western practice of putting babies alone in a nursery seems cold and cruel. In fact, we did co-sleep because middle-class housing did not come with central heating!!

Nancy C. Sharts-Hopko, PhD, RN, FAAN

Professor and Director, Doctoral Program, College of Nursing, Villanova University