Is It Safe to Sleep With Your Newborn Baby

Some parents choose to bed share with their babies. This means that their baby shares the same bed with an adult for nigh of the night, and not but to be comforted or fed. Some parents also choose to sleep with their baby in other places.

Our co-sleeping communication

Babies should be slept in a articulate sleep infinite, which is easy to create in a cot or Moses basket. We know however that families also bed share, so recommend making your bed a safer identify for baby whether yous doze off accidentally, or choose to bed share. Our advice on co-sleeping with your infant will tell you how. For safer co-sleeping:

• Keep pillows, sheets, blankets away from your baby or any other items that could obstruct your infant'southward animate or cause them to overheat. A high proportion of infants who die as a result of SIDS are constitute with their head covered by loose bedding.
• Follow all of our other safer slumber advice to reduce the hazard of SIDS such equally sleeping baby on their dorsum
• Avoid letting pets or other children in the bed
• Make sure baby won't autumn out of bed or get trapped betwixt the mattress and the wall

When not to co-sleep

Information technology is important for you to know that there are some circumstances in which co-sleeping with your baby can be very dangerous:

• Either you or your partner smokes (fifty-fifty if yous do not smoke in the bedchamber)
• Either yous or your partner has drunk booze or taken drugs (including medications that may brand you drowsy)
• Your baby was built-in premature (earlier 37 weeks)
• Your baby was born at a depression weight (2.5kg or 5½ lbs or less)
• Never sleep on a sofa or armchair with your baby, this tin can increase the take a chance of SIDS by 50 times

Y'all should never sleep together with your infant if any of the above points employ to you lot or your partner.

For more info on co-sleeping and safer sleep read our guide for parents

Co-sleeping with your babe: FAQs

I am worried I might fall asleep while I breastfeed my baby at night, is this ok?

Breastfeeding reduces the chance of SIDS, and so nosotros would always try and assistance you piece of work out a way to continue breastfeeding in the safest style possible. If you lot feel you lot might fall asleep  we would recommend y'all prepare the bed as described above and so information technology is safer for infant if this happens. Make sure you know the advice on when never to bed share and so you know when to accept detail intendance. Information technology is really of import that y'all practise not accidentally fall asleep with your infant on a sofa or armchair. If you lot call up yous might autumn asleep on a sofa or armchair, put the baby down in a safety place to slumber.

Should I co-sleep with my baby?

Information technology is very much a personal choice so we would just advise you to read all the data on safer co-sleeping so you tin make an informed decision. That way even if you decide not to co-sleep you tin can brand your bed a safer identify for your baby if you doze off accidentally.

There are some circumstances where we would strongly recommend against co-sleeping such as on a sofa or armchair, if anyone in the bed smokes or has drunkard alcohol or the baby was premature or a low nascence weight.

Is it safer to co-sleep using a nest or pod than with a baby just lying on the adult bed?

No. We practice non recommend that babies sleep on soft surfaces such as pods or nests. If you choose to co-sleep with your baby the safest place is a articulate space on a business firm apartment mattress the same as we would advise with a cot.

What bedding should I apply for my baby when nosotros co-slumber?

To avoid loose bedding a sleeping bag would be advisable. You tin can choose different togs for dissimilar seasons to help keep your baby at the right temperature. You can also select dissimilar sizes depending on the age of your baby. It is important that the sleeping pocketbook fits well around the shoulders then that your infant's head does non slip down into the bag.

The Lullaby Trust has worked with Public Heath England, Unicef UK Baby Friendly and Ground on two publications to back up families with safer sleep advice and advice on co-sleeping more safely. Nosotros have likewise collaborated on a guide for health professionals to accept more open and productive discussions with families nearly safer slumber and co-sleeping. These can be downloaded below.

You might also be interested in reading the two Unicef Baby Friendly publications, which are both endorsed past The Lullaby Trust:

• Unicef's leaflet on Caring for Your Baby at Dark
• Unicef's guide Co-sleeping and SIDS: A Guide for Health Professionals

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Source: https://www.lullabytrust.org.uk/safer-sleep-advice/co-sleeping/