Place your baby with their feet to the foot of the cot, to prevent them wriggling down under the covers.
Never sleep with your baby on a sofa or armchair.
The safest place for your baby to sleep is in a crib or cot in a room with you for the first six months.
Its especially dangerous for your baby to sleep in your bed
if you (or your partner):
are a smoker, even if you never smoke in bed or at home
have been drinking alcohol
take medication or drugs that make you drowsy
feel very tired;
or if your baby:
was born before 37 weeks
weighed less than 2.5kg or 5½ lbs at birth
is less than three months old.
Dont forget, accidents can happen: you might roll over in your sleep and suffocate your baby; or your baby could get caught between the wall and the bed, or could roll out of an adult bed and be injured.
Settling your baby to sleep (day and night) with a dummy can reduce the risk of cot death, even if the dummy falls out while your baby is asleep.
Breastfeed your baby. Establish breastfeeding before starting to use a dummy.
Take a more detailed look at our Cot Death Section |
