James J. McKenna

James Joseph McKenna (born 1948) is an American biological anthropologist. McKenna founded and directed the Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Laboratory at the University of Notre Dame, studying the physiology and behavior of co-sleeping mothers and infants. He has published over 140 scientific articles in medical and anthropological journals on the topics of co-sleeping, breastfeeding, evolutionary medicine, and SIDS, and is the author of several trade and academic books. He also regularly lectures on specialized topics relating to co-sleeping and breastfeeding, particularly to pediatric medical professionals and parents.

Education McKenna received his undergraduate degree in anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley in 1970. In 1972, he earned his master's degree from San Diego State University, and in 1975 earned his Ph.D. in biological anthropology from the University of Oregon, Eugene. However, following the birth of his son in 1978, his research focus shifted. McKenna has stated that, when reading through existing parenting literature, he was surprised to see that it contradicted his years of research and training about the universal aspects of primate life, particularly when it came to feeding and sleeping arrangements. This inspired him to apply the principles of human behavioral evolution to an understanding of human infancy.

At the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine, his neurology research team pioneered the first behavioral and electro-physiological studies documenting differences between mothers and infants sleeping together and apart. Drawing on the historic anthropological relationship between breastfeeding and infant sleep, breastsleeping is considered to be the safest form of bedsharing, practiced worldwide for all of human history. It relies on four central tenets:

With easy access to the breast, babies will night feed without fully waking their mother or themselves, meaning both mother and child get more sleep. Bedsharing increases the ease and frequency of night feedings and has been known to extend breastfeeding duration. Mothers who consistently breastfeed are proven to be physiologically attuned to their babies. Under appropriate safety conditions, breastfeeding mothers are able to maintain awareness, rouse when necessary, and protect their babies throughout the night. Breastfeeding infants are equally physiologically attuned to their mothers. Sleeping directly beside their mothers helps babies regulate their developing physiological functions, such as breathing.

Personal life

McKenna resides in San Francisco with his wife, Joanne. They have a son and one grandchild.