Sleeping Arrangements in Families With Twins

This study describes home sleeping arrangements used by parents of twins and investigates whether room sharing (twins in the same room as parents) or cobedding (crib sharing between twins) influences parental nighttime sleep duration or sleep quality. A secondary analysis of data obtained from a longitudinal study of sleep in 104 families with twins was undertaken. More than 65% of twins were cobedded at 4 weeks; this decreased to approximately 42% by 13 weeks of age. Approximately 64% of families practiced room sharing at 4 weeks; this decreased to approximately 40% by 13 weeks of age. Mothers and fathers who both room shared and cobedded their twins at 9 weeks of age were most likely to experience restricted sleep duration when compared with other sleeping arrangements. Results suggest that parents of twins may not be following the most recent American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations regarding safe infant sleep for multiple-birth infants.