Babies Should Sleep In Parents' Room in Separate Cot To Avoid SIDS, Doctors Advise

Babies should sleep in their parents’ room for their first six months to a year, to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), doctors have advised.

The American Academy of Paediatrics (APA) has stated babies should sleep separately in their own crib or bassinet (not in their parents’ bed). They also reiterated 2011 guidance that infants should sleep on their backs in a place free of toys or blankets.

“We know parents may be overwhelmed with a new baby in the home, and we want to provide them with clear and simple guidance on how and where to put their infant to sleep,” said Rachel Moon, lead author of the report.

“Parents should never place the baby on a sofa, couch or cushioned chair, either alone or sleeping with another person. We know that these surfaces are extremely hazardous.”

nickfree via Getty Images

The new policy statement, ‘SIDS and Other Sleep-Related Infant Deaths: Updated 2016 Recommendations for a Safe Infant Sleeping Environment’, was presented on Monday 24 October 2016 at the AAP National Conference and Exhibition in San Francisco.

The statement referenced the fact that approximately 3,500 infants die annually in the United States from sleep-related infant deaths. In the UK, just under 300 babies die suddenly and unexpectedly every year, the NHS states.

The policy also stated that breastfeeding is recommended, but mums should move the baby to a separate sleeping space afterwards.

“If you are feeding your baby and think that there’s even the slightest possibility that you may fall asleep, feed your baby on your bed, rather than a sofa or cushioned chair,” said co-author Lori Feldman-Winter, a member of the Task Force on SIDS, according to Yahoo.

“If you do fall asleep, as soon as you wake up be sure to move the baby to his or her own bed.”

Commenting on the statement, Francine Bates, chief executive of The Lullaby Trust, an organisation promoting safer baby sleep, told The Huffington Post UK: “We are pleased to see that the American Academy of Paediatrics has updated its advice on safer sleep.

“The US has disproportionately higher rates of SIDS than the UK and there is an urgent need to take action to reduce the high number of unexplained infant deaths.

“In this country, The Lullaby Trust has long advised that parents share a room with their newborn baby for the first six months. The safest place for your baby to sleep is in their own cot or Moses basket, in the same room as you, on a flat, firm mattress.

“All our health professionals are encouraged to follow the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines on co-sleeping and have open discussions with parents about the risks of co-sleeping and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

“All parents should be made aware of this advice as a matter of course, in particular the dangers of co-sleeping on a sofa and where a parent is a smoker and co-sleeps on any surface.”

AAP recommendations on creating a safe sleep environment include:
Place the baby on his or her back on a firm sleep surface such as a crib or bassinet with a taut sheet.
Avoid use of soft bedding, including crib bumpers, blankets, pillows and soft toys. The crib should be bare.
Share a bedroom with parents, but not the same sleeping surface, preferably until the baby turns one but at least for the first six months. Room-sharing decreases the risk of SIDS by as much as 50%.
Avoid baby’s exposure to smoke, alcohol and illicit drugs.

Before You Go

Sleep Training Techniques To Try At Home

Sleep Restriction(01 of06)

When you’re not sleeping well, your instinct is probably to spend more time in bed. But while it might sound counterintuitive, restricting your sleep could ultimately lead to more shut-eye in the long-term. The aim of sleep restriction is to spend less non-sleep time in bed. This creates a mild sleep deprivation and can promote an earlier sleep onset.

The first step is to pick a waking-up time and stick to it with absolute conviction. Then you need to establish your average total sleep time per night by keeping a sleep diary for a week. If you sleep seven hours a night, you need to go to bed seven hours before your chosen wake-up time. And stick to it. It sounds simple but throw social engagements and TV dramas into the mix and it requires more determination and commitment than you might think. (credit:JGI/Jamie Grill via Getty Images)

Stimulus Control(02 of06)

If sleep restriction sounds a little regimented, you could try the ‘stimulus control’ technique, which aims to create a strong association between your bed and sleeping.

This involves going to bed only when you feel tired and setting your alarm for the same time every morning. If you wake up and can’t get back to sleep, you get out of bed and go into another room to do some form of non-stimulating activity, such as those great retro throwbacks, knitting or a colouring book. It also means you can only use your bedroom for sleep (and sex!) – not for reading or doing the crossword, and certainly not for watching TV or scrolling through your social feeds. (credit:altrendo images via Getty Images)

Jacobson's Progressive Relaxation(03 of06)

Jacobson’s progressive relaxation technique involves contracting each of your muscle groups to induce a state of calm – and is widely used by medical experts. But it can also work well as a natural sleep aid for obvious reasons. Example moves include pressing your heels into the floor, holding and then letting go or pulling your knees together, holding briefly, then letting them drift apart a little, being aware of the new position. Find a full breakdown of the technique to try at home in this information sheet from Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London. (credit:Ammentorp Photography via Getty Images)

Autogenic Training(04 of06)

Another technique involving muscle relaxation is Autogenic Training, which involves focusing awareness on different parts of the body and consciously relaxing them. This can be taught on courses to an advanced level (apparently, with practice, even your pulse can be influenced) but you can certainly try your own version at home.

Lying on your back in bed, allow each muscle group to ‘go to sleep’ starting at your feet and working your way up to the head. Even if you don’t drift off, this ‘virtual massage’ will leave you feeling wonderfully relaxed. (credit:Indeed via Getty Images)

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy(05 of06)

Unhelpful thought patterns around sleep can seriously exacerbate your inability to drop off. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy aims to tackle these patterns by challenging exaggerated and unrealistic, but deeply ingrained, beliefs about sleep. For instance, if you convince yourself you won’t be able to make it through tomorrow’s meeting if you don’t get back to sleep, this could be the very stress that ultimately keeps you awake. A more realistic approach might be to remind yourself that last time you had a bad night’s sleep you coped fine the following day.

If you’d prefer to get the benefits of CBT from the comfort of your own laptop, Sleepio offers an online CBT-based programme masterminded by one of the country’s leading sleep experts Professor Colin Espie. (credit:Tetra Images via Getty Images)

Mindfulness Meditation(06 of06)

By focusing your attention on the breath or the body, mindfulness meditation allows you to detach yourself from your thoughts. So if you lie awake at night, your mind racing, ruminating on the day’s low points or panicking about tomorrow’s to-do list, meditation could be the perfect solution. A Harvard study found that mindfulness meditation could improve sleep and reduce insomnia.

With the practice growing rapidly in popularity, eight-week introductory courses to mindful meditation are available all over the country – and are ideal for getting to grips with the basic techniques and principles. But it can also be practised at home with the help of an app, such as Headspace, which includes specially designed sleep meditations. (credit:JGI/Tom Grill via Getty Images)

uk parents Family new parents Babies child safety