According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, 3,500 infant deaths occur every year due to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) or other sleep-related deaths. In an effort to curb this number, the AAP recently updated its safe sleep recommendations.
Below are several tips for parents and caregivers to follow to ensure safe sleep following the ABCs.
Alone: Babies should always sleep alone, on a separate sleep space. The AAP now recommends parents sleep in the same room as the baby for the first six months, or ideally up to one year of age, but in a separate space. It’s not safe to share the same bed with the baby, or for them to fall asleep on a soft surface like a chair or sofa with parents, as this poses a suffocation risk.
Many families don’t have the space (or desire!) to put a full-size crib in their bedroom. Consider a cradle, co-sleeper or travel crib that can be easily moved instead.
Back: Always place your baby on her back to sleep. Babies on their backs are less likely to choke if they spit up. Studies also show that placing babies on their backs reduces SIDS and suffocation risk, as it allows infants to better regulate their breathing.
Crib: The baby’s crib must be completely bare, with nothing but a tightly fitted sheet. This restriction includes bumper pads, pillows, blankets or stuffed animals. It may be tempting to cover your baby in a blanket or tuck a stuffed bear in his arm, but any object in the crib presents a risk of suffocation, entrapment and strangulation, and should be avoided. Pacifiers are the only exception.
Smokefree: Babies need a smoke-free home. In pregnancy and after birth, smoke exposure increases the risk of SIDS.
Additional tips
Keep the room at a comfortable temperature: If you’re hot, your baby is probably hot, too. The AAP recommends keeping the baby’s room between 65 and 70 degrees for optimum comfort. Consider adding a fan to help air circulate and add soothing white noise.
Offer a pacifier: Research shows that pacifiers reduce the risk of SIDS. To avoid the danger of strangulation, never attach the pacifier to baby’s clothes during sleep.
Breast-feed, if possible: Research shows that breast-feeding can help reduce the risk of SIDS.
Dr. Erin Frank, a mom and pediatric hospitalist at UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, offers simple tips in partnership with BabyBj?rn for parents based on the updated recommendations for safe infant sleep environments from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
