Infant Safe Sleep

Safe Sleep ABCDs

• Alone – All infants should sleep alone in their crib. Baby can sleep in the same room as you, but not the same bed.
• Back to Sleep – A baby should sleep on their back at night and during nap time. Place baby on a firm mattress in a crib or a portable crib.
• Clean, Clear Crib – A baby’s crib should contain a fitted sheet only – no blankets, toys, pillows, bumpers or other items that could pose a risk for suffocation.
• Danger & Drug-Free – Be aware, not impaired. Drinking and drug use can impair your ability to take care of your baby, making bed-sharing and other unsafe sleep dangerous for the baby.

Safe Sleep Steps

1. Always place your baby on their back to sleep.
2. Use a firm, flat, non-inclined surface to reduce suffocation, wedging and entrapment risk. (Sleep surfaces with more than 10 degrees of incline are unsafe for infants.)
3. Never dress your baby too warmly for sleep. Keep the room temperature comfortable for an adult. Stop using hats and other head coverings during sleep once the infant can self-sustain body temperature.
4. Dress your baby in a one-piece sleeper or wearable blanket. Do not use loose blankets. There is no evidence to suggest swaddling reduces SIDS risk. Proper swaddling should allow the hips to be flexible. Discontinue swaddling once the infant shows signs of rolling.
5. Share the room, not the bed, for the infant’s first six months. Your baby should only sleep in a crib bassinet or portable playpen.
6. Remove all soft bedding bumpers, quilts, comforters, mattress toppers, fur-like materials, blankets and toys from baby’s sleep space; use only a tight, fitted sheet. Avoid weighted blankets and any additional items in the sleep space.
7. Obtain regular prenatal care while expecting.
8. Do not expose your baby to smoke and nicotine of any kind. Remember, cigarette and other smoke stays on your clothing, as well.
9. Avoid alcohol, marijuana, opioids and illicit drug use during pregnancy and after birth.
10. Visit the pediatrician regularly and stay up to date on immunizations.
11. Breastfeed, if possible. Breastfeeding lowers your baby’s risk of SIDS by 50 percent. Breastfeed for a minimum of two months, at least six months exclusively, and one year or beyond if mutually desired by both infant and mom.
12. Offer a pacifier when putting your baby to sleep. If breastfeeding, offer a pacifier after one month.
13. Immunize infants according to the recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics and Centers for Disease Control.
14. Home cardiorespiratory monitors are not recommended as a way to reduce SIDS risk.
15. Avoid commercial devices not consistent with safe sleep recommendations.
16. Car seats and other infant sitting devices should not be used to route sleep, especially with young infants. Start soon after hospital discharge with 15 minutes and slowly increase to 30 minutes by seven weeks of age.
17. Supervised awake tummy time for short periods encourages development and helps avoid positional plagiocephaly (a flat space on the side or back of the head caused by pressure on the developing skull bones).

Discover more by visiting Cribs for Kids – Helping every baby sleep safer.

Call (337) 470-BABY(2229) for a full list of prenatal classes and other helpful resources.