October is SIDS Awareness Month and a great time to review your knowledge of what parents and caregivers can do to reduce the risk of SIDS for the babies they love. Most people have a general idea of what SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) is, but may not know that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) actually updated their guidelines on ways to reduce SIDS risk just a few years ago in 2016. Here’s what you need to know to keep your baby sleeping safely:
How to Create a Safe Sleep Environment
The AAP recommends taking these steps to create a safe sleep environment for your baby:
Back to sleep for every sleep
Put babies “back to sleep for every sleep” by always placing babies down on their backs, not on their tummies. It’s okay if babies roll from their backs to their tummies on their own! Just be sure to lie them on their backs when they are initially put down.
Keep it Firm
Always put your baby to bed on a firm mattress. Frankly, the firmer, the better. Mattresses that are too soft are a suffocation hazard. You can test the mattress by pressing down with your fingers on the center and at the edges. If your baby’s crib, bassinet, or portable crib is certified by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), that will also insure that the mattress is the right size to prevent any gaps at the edges in which a baby could get stuck. Beware of products that claim they are “safe” without this certification.
Keep it Empty and Cool
Anything in the crib apart from the mattress, a sheet, and your baby is a no-no. No blankets, no lovies, no stuffed animals, no loose clothing, no bumper pads...you get the idea. Any of these can become a suffocation risk.
Avoid overheating. Dress your baby in no more than one extra layer beyond what you yourself find comfortable. Keep an eye out for signs of sweating or a heat-flushed face.If you are worried your child may be cold, a sleep sack is great for keeping your baby at a comfortable temperature for sleep.
Tummy time when awake
Tummy time during awake windows is one of the best things you can do to help your baby build strength and motor skills! Scientists still aren’t clear on exactly how much tummy time babies need, but we know it’s associated with a lower SIDS risk. Most babies can tolerate a few minutes at a time and then build from there.
Room-sharing? Yes! Bed-sharing? No!
Room-sharing means your baby is sleeping in the same bedroom with you, but not sharing the same bed. Having your baby sleep in a bassinet or similar arrangement – close to your bed but on a separate surface – can reduce SIDS risk by 50%! The AAP recommends this sleeping situation ideally until 12 months of age, but also notes that the first 6 months are the most beneficial.
Breastfeeding is associated with a reduced risk of SIDS.
The more you can breastfeed, the more it helps. That means any amount of breastfeeding you can do is better than none in terms of reducing SIDS risk. Expressed milk fed from a bottle is just as helpful as direct from the breast.
Pacifiers May Also Prevent SIDS
You may have to try several kinds before you hit on a firmness, shape, and size that your baby finds comforting, and some babies will never take one at all. But if you can get your baby to sleep with a pacifier, it will reduce SIDS risk. Why? Scientists honestly have no idea! But we do know that even if the pacifier falls out of their mouths while sleeping, those babies STILL have a reduced SIDS risk! Amazing, right? Just remember: no stuffed toys, ribbons, or ties attached to the pacifier for sleep.
Just Say NO
Smoking, alcohol, and illicit drug use all are major risk factors for SIDS. Not only should Mom avoid all these substances during pregnancy, but she needs to continue to avoid smoking after baby’s birth. In fact, the whole family should commit to keeping the home and vehicles entirely smoke-free, and avoid second-hand smoke for all family members. Alcohol and illicit drug use after the baby’s birth increase the risk of SIDS when combined with bed-sharing. Since we know you shouldn’t be bed-sharing anyway, the AAP is not trying to keep you from a glass of wine at night. Be cautious and talk to your doctor if you’re unsure how much alcohol is okay.
Other Considerations
Prenatal care for Mom and immunizations for baby are both associated with reduced SIDS risk. There is no evidence linking immunizations and increased SIDS risk.
Look out for irresponsible marketing. Sadly, there are products out there that claim to reduce SIDS risk, but actually are direct risks themselves. The big culprits here are wedges and positioners marketed for use in an adult bed as a way to keep the adult and baby separate and purportedly safe. These are not safe. As for special “breathable” mattresses claiming to prevent SIDS, there is no evidence that they actually do so. There’s also no evidence of harm from them either, so it’s just a matter of your budget and preferences.
Cardiorespiratory monitors are not a reliable tool for reducing SIDS risk. Some families end up going home from the hospital with these devices because they’re needed to monitor certain health conditions for their baby. They look like they would alert the parents to SIDS, as well – they monitor breathing and oxygen in the blood, right? Wrong. There is no evidence that they help reduce SIDS risk, nor that other commercial versions do so either. Like the mattresses mentioned above, using one is not thought to cause any harm, unless it makes you more lax about the other guidelines. These products may give a false sense of safety.
Share this important SIDS Awareness Month information with friends, family, or anyone you know who has a little baby. if you have questions about safe sleep, come ask on our Facebook or Instagram pages. We also offer safe sleep education as part of our newborn sleep packages so parents can’t practice SIDS awareness all year long. We need to help one another to protect our babies and keep them safe!