You’ve put a lot of thought, care and effort into creating the perfect nursery for your baby. Make sure your baby’s room also features a safe sleeping environment, which can reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and other sleep-related causes of infant death. Here are a few key tips on creating a safe sleeping environment for your precious baby:
Always place your baby on his/her back to sleep, even for naps.
Make sure everyone who cares for your baby knows this as well. Older caretakers of your baby (grandmothers, aunts, etc.) may tell you, “The baby must sleep only on his/her stomach — the baby may choke if he/she sleeps on his/her back.” Thankfully, in the last few years, many studies have been done and we have learned the risk of choking is almost zero. It is much safer for babies to sleep on their backs.
Place your baby on a firm mattress.
Research has shown that placing a baby to sleep on pillows, soft mattresses, sofas, sofa cushions, waterbeds, sheepskins or other soft surfaces can increase the risk of SIDS. Also, use a safety-approved crib and cover the mattress with a fitted sheet. For more information on crib safety guidelines, call the Consumer Product Safety Commission at 1-800-638-2772 or visit www.cpsc.gov.
Uncover your baby.
Make sure your baby’s face and head stay uncovered during sleep to avoid the possibility of suffocation.
Don’t let your baby get too warm during sleep.
Too many layers of clothing or blankets can overheat your baby. If your baby is cold, use sleep clothing, such as a one-piece sleeper or a swaddle, instead of a blanket.
Let your baby be the cutest thing in bed.
Remove soft, fluffy and loose bedding and stuffed toys from your baby’s sleep area. This includes pillows, blankets and pillow-like bumpers.
Never allow smoking near your baby.
Secondhand smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals. Hundreds are toxic and about 70 can cause cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), secondhand smoke can cause numerous health problems in infants and children, including more frequent and severe asthma attacks, respiratory infections, ear infections and SIDS.
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden and unexplained death of a baby under one year of age. Because many SIDS babies are found in their cribs, some people call SIDS “crib death”. It is not known what causes SIDS but it is known:
- SIDS is the leading cause of death in babies after one month of age.
- Most SIDS deaths occur between one and four months of age.
- More SIDS deaths occur in the colder months.
- Babies placed to sleep on their stomachs are much more likely to die of SIDS than babies placed on their backs.
For more information, check out U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Safe to Sleep® program at nichd.nih.gov/sts.
Expectant moms and dads, learn more about creating a safe sleeping environment for your baby, as well as information about pregnancy, childbirth and infant care, during an upcoming Childbirth Prep Class at Mountain Vista Medical Center, in Mesa. For more information, visit http://www.eventbrite.com/e/prenatal-class-english-5-week-series-tickets-16825624897.
