The Christmas baby safe sleep guide
1. Avoid smoking
Smoking has been shown to increase the risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) occurring. If you or anybody else must smoke, preferably do it outside of the house, not in the same room as your baby, and especially not the room she is going to sleep in. Also, avoid visiting smoky places.
2. Remember safe sleep positions
Your baby’s sleeping position is very important. Going against earlier advice, it is now accepted that the safest position for your baby to sleep in, is on her back. Sleeping on her front is a position now known to be associated with SIDS. Ensure that her feet are at the bottom of the cot or crib. Buying a baby sleeping bag can help as it stops your baby from wriggling down underneath her covers. If you are staying somewhere unfamiliar; grandparents for example, it can help your baby if she is put in her normal baby sleeping bag to sleep by making her feel familiar and consistence with what she is used to at home.
3. Temperature control
It can be difficult if you are staying at someone else's house to control the temperature, but if you take a travel room thermometer with you and your baby's grow bag you can check your baby isn't likely to get too hot. Check the central heating is not too high (if you can) and that your baby has the right amount of blankets to keep her warm. Make sure her head is not covered over by blankets (put her feet to the bottom of the cot so she can’t wriggle down under the covers). If your baby is feverish, reduce her covering to help her regulate her body temperature. Don't put your baby's travel cot right next to a radiator which could make her too hot. A comfortable temperature for your baby to sleep in is between 16-20°C.
4. Bed - hopping
It can be tempting to bring your baby into bed with you (co-sleeping), especially if you are away from home and your baby is unsettled. However, Parents are usually advised not to share a bed with their baby if either one of them are smokers, have been drinking alcohol, are on drugs or medication, are very tired or if their baby was born prematurely or was small at birth. Remember that at Christmas time you may well have had a few too many mulled wines or you'll be more tired than usual. If you are sleeping in a bed you are not used to, be aware that your baby could roll out of bed and be injured or become caught between the wall and the bed if they are not used to it.
5. Falling asleep on the armchair
Again, it's tempting after a long day, when you are feeling tired and worn out to fall asleep on the armchair with your baby, but again this is advised against in case you move into a position which restricts your baby's airways. If you and your baby are tired, put her to sleep on her back in her cot and have a doze next to her on your bed. (Experts suggest the safest place for babies to sleep in the first six months is in a cot, in their parents' bedroom, not in the parents' bed.)
Other things that can help to reduce the risk of SIDS are:
- Settling your baby to sleep with a dummy
- Breastfeeding your baby
- Making sure your baby's mattress is firm, flat, clean and fits the cot well (i.e no gaps) and ideally new for each child.
- Don’t add more covers to your baby’s cot if she is unwell and has a temperature. Instead swap her blanket for a sheet and remove some of her bedclothes so she does not get too hot.
- Place your baby with her feet at the foot of the cot when you are
putting her to sleep so that she cannot slip down underneath her
covers. Tuck her sheet or blanket in at the sides so it cannot move
around too much.
- Remove all baby’s toys, pillows, loose bedding, sheepskins and cot bumpers from the cot.
Last Modified:
Mothercare
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