I absolutely love sleeping with my child. I've been sleeping with him since he was born. First with a cosleeping bed (it has hard walls to prevent rollover) and then without. My child is two years old now and I still love cosleeping with him. He falls asleep in his crib, and usually asks to get into our bed at some point of the night and I would never be able to turn him away. I love being next to him while he rests peacefully. And there's no doubt about it, babies do sleep much better with their parents warmth.

Hey there Rafael: Many people do it but just don't discuss it or coin it "co-sleeping." In many cases it isn't planned, but it happens. If your child gets in bed with you at midnight or 1am and stays until 8. Guess what? You're a co-sleeper. They simply "nap" in the crib or bassinet in those cases. Nice, honest post on a topic not many readily admit.
-Angela

What Angela says is true and brings up one of the dangers of co-sleeping. People don't plan on doing it, keep it a secret, so they don't necessarily do it safely. If you find you are falling asleep with your baby in the bed with you or your toddler is coming in to your bed in the middle of the night, read Dr. Sears' rules for safe co-sleeping and follow them.
Co-sleeping is a beautiful thing and indeed helps tremendously with breastfeeding and sleeping (and a new study showed breastfeeding moms get an extra hour of sleep per day than bottle feeding moms!)

I used a co-sleeper form birth to 6 months, then she slept in her crib until she was able to stand up on her own, but couldn't get back down. Since then, she sleeps with me, and guess what? We both sleep better snuggled up together.

Did I mentioned I slept in bed with my mom until I was 10? I guess some experiences are just too wonderful not to share with your kids!

I had a patient whose child died in bed while co-sleeping (crushed by an exhausted mother who couldn't hear her child's muffled cries), and I have read too many other reports to consider this a safe practice. Babies can, and do, die this way. Further, I've never met one FATHER in my practice that liked this idea at all. I've seen mothers use "co-sleeping" as an excuse to avoid intimacy with their partner after a baby is born. I know of fathers who have taken up residence on the couch to get a decent night's sleep. Parents should not leave their own bed to accomodate a spouse and a sleeping child. This is a harmful family dynamic. Unless you fully research the benefits AND the very real risks of co-sleeping, and then honestly assess if you are putting the child in bed with you to avoid intimacy, a child should sleep in his or her own bed or crib. There is no psychological damage done to a child who is trained to sleep in his or her own crib.

Babies can and do die in many ways. While you point to one anecdote and non-specific "too many reports," I'm pointing to research by Dr. Sears and the March of Dimes (and leaving out the research conducted by Dr. James McKenna and others) who indicate that co sleeping can be done safely.

That's not to say "you're wrong" or "it's always perfectly safe, don't worry." But the experts disagree. I do not know your level of expertise, but if you are an expert who thinks co sleeping is a dangerous practice, you're in good company. And if you're an expert who believes that co sleeping is a common practice that can be done safely with precautions, you're also in good company.

Hi Dr Karen - my husband enjoys co-sleeping... since you are collecting anecdotal evidence as empirical fact...

I do not agree with Dr Karen. I co-sleep with my 14 month old. We have since he was born. I didnt plan for it to happen. In fact, our first night home I put him in the crib. I came to find out that as a breastfeeding mama, it's easier on me and allows me more sleep if I just put him in bed next to me. Two months later my milk supply was coming up short so I had to formula feed. I was going to put him back in the crib but my husband insisted he stay in our bed. Now, if I try to put my son in his crib, my husband takes him out and puts him in our bed. So there are husbands who like co-sleeping. No it isnt a form or avoiding intimacy. We have a good sex life.