There is definitely this weird culture of promoting mom's mental health...except when it comes to sleep training (and breastfeeding, though that isn't as contentious). A happy mom will provide higher quality emotional time for their newborn, and if it takes sleep training for mom to be happy, that's fine. I can guarantee you can't tell the difference between a baby that was sleep trained vs one who wasn't when they're five when looking at the bond they have with their parents.

Having emotional breakdowns every day isn't healthy, and baby can pick up on that mental state. Gentle sleep training (not just plopping them in the crib to cry it out for however long it takes) isn't some evil devil destroying a child's psyche. The evidence is that thousands of parents have sleep trained their children, and still have wonderful, emotionally intelligent and bonded children.

If it's not for you, fine. But the shaming around sleep training is ridiculous. I didn't even know it was controversial until seeing it criticized on this forum. I know people who have done it, and their kids are great, so I just assumed it was the best route to go for everyone's mental health.