Today@Dal

A veteran neonatal nurse in Halifax has published an industry-applauded study that may improve twin sleeping, as well as the health and happiness of twins and their parents.

"Having twins is stressful, but a lot less stressful if they're not crying all the time," Kathryn Hayward told CBC's Information Morning in Halifax.

The study looked at putting twins to sleep together, instead of in separate beds. It may seem obvious — or at least easier — but the method called co-bedding has had little to no research done on it before, Hayward said. And some parents were worried about the safety of it.

Her study, done with a team based at the IWK Health Centre and Dalhousie University, found twins sleep longer, more deeply and regularly when put to bed together. They also would fall asleep at the same time, she said.

"They weren't happy when they were apart," Hayward said.

Strong infants, more alert parents

The infants became stronger, having more time to rest and spending less time crying, which also helped parents, she said.

"While that one's awake, the other's asleep. When do you get your rest? Having them awake at the same time is really important," Hayward said.

"You'll actually have an opportunity to rest and do those things you need to do."

Award-winning research

Her study, Effect of cobedding twins on coregulation, infant state and twin safety, won a prestigious award for being the best in the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing.

She said more studies must be done because the practice is considered not proven safe nor unsafe. Her study looked at babies in incubators before they were taken home.

Read more (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/twin-study-iwk-health-centre-dalhousie-university-hospital-baby-1.3641004)