Put your baby to bed on her back. Babies should always sleep on their backs. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS, is less likely to affect babies who sleep in this position. NEVER PUT YOUR BABY TO SLEEP ON HER TUMMY.
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is the sudden and unexplained death of a baby under one year of age. About 2,500 babies die of SIDS every year.
SIDS is also known as “crib death”, because death often occurs while baby is in her crib sleeping.
Some important things to remember are:
- Cigarette smoke can increase the risk of SIDS. Never expose your baby to cigarette smoke.
- Baby should always sleep in her own crib; not in her parent’s bed or on a sofa. Baby must sleep on a firm surface without blankets, pillows, or fluffy stuffed toys.
- It is not safe to put a baby to sleep on a sofa. It’s okay to bring the baby into bed to breastfeed, but it’s safest to return him to the crib or bassinet for sleeping.
- Many families put the baby’s crib or bassinet in another room. It’s safest for the baby’s crib or bassinet to be in the same room with the parents.
Beginning on the first day home from the hospital, you can place the baby on her stomach while she is awake and you are watching. You can do this 2-3 times a day. This position will help her strengthen her neck muscles and prepare her for learning to crawl.
—- from First5 Advice for New Parents
