05/03/2024
✨ Safe(r) Sleep Week Day 2: Baby on Back + Roomsharing Night AND Day ✨
*Sleep position and room-sharing information from The Lullaby Trust
✨Sharing a room ✨
Babies should always be in the same room as you for at least the first six months for sleep, day and night.
This doesn't mean you can't leave the room to make a cup of tea or go to the toilet, but most of the time, when they are sleeping, they are safest if you are close by. Why? Between 0 and 1 year, but specifically before six months old, your baby's brain goes through a lot of development. This development includes changes in the processes that manage breathing and heart rate.
There are no devices on the market that will substitute a parent or carer being in the same room as your baby for safer sleep.
✨ The safest sleeping position for a baby is on their back ✨
It is safest to always place your baby on their back to sleep (unless your doctor has advised you of a medical reason not to do so, including the risks associated).
Sleeping a baby on their front or side significantly increases the risk of SIDS. The risk of SIDS is particularly high for babies who are *sometimes* placed on their front or side.
Once your baby can move from their back to their front and back again by themselves, they can find their own sleeping position. Give them time to play on their tummy while awake to help them develop their turning skills if they've mastered one way but not the other, but make sure you supervise them while they are on their front.
✨Keep your baby's sleep surface flat✨
Inclining, tilting or propping the mattress, cot, or baby increases their risk of SIDS. There is no evidence that it helps with reflux and is unlikely to improve cold symptoms, but there is evidence that it constitutes an added risk.
As always, ensuring you have enough information to manage your unique family situation and the associated risks is the safest way to go.
For more on the best sleeping position for a baby head over to The Lullaby Trust's Website.