Top things parents should know about infant sleep and infant products

By Michele Barry, President, Safe Infant Sleep
Guest Author

It’s Baby Safety Month, a good time to review the new recommendations for infant sleep.

Safe Infant Sleep was founded in June 2020 after members in a Facebook support group realized how little support and evidence-based information caregivers were receiving about safe sleep.

Infant sleep safety isn’t just about SIDS – Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

SIDS is typically the first thing a parent thinks of when they hear about safe sleep. It’s defined as the sudden unexplained death of a child under 12 months of age. The Back to Sleep campaign was one of the first steps in helping to reduce the risk of SIDS and led to the creation of the safe sleep ABCs. While safe sleep guidelines are imperative in helping to reduce the risk, I’ve been asked many times “But if we can’t prevent it completely, and my baby sleeps better going against the guidelines…what’s the point?”

Sudden Unexpected Infant Death or SUID is the overall category for things such as SIDS, suffocation, asphyxiation, strangulation, entrapment, and others. While SIDS can’t be entirely prevented, the other causes of infant death listed above are preventable. Following the safe sleep guidelines put out by the American Academy of Pediatrics will help you lower SIDS risk and prevent other forms of SUID for your child.

There’s more to safe sleep than just the ABCs

The ABCs of safe sleep are critical when it comes to infant sleep safety, but there’s more to it.

The ABCs are:

Alone – Place your baby to sleep alone, that means only with a well-fitted snug sheet and a pacifier that isn’t attached to anything. That means no bedding, no toys, no other humans or even animals should be allowed on the same sleep surface. While twins may have been together in the hospital or NICU, it’s no longer safe to have them sleep in the same space once at home.

Back – Lay your baby down flat on their back for every sleep up to 12 months of age. This is regardless of supervision.

Crib – Only use a bassinet, playard, or crib that passes the current safety standards for infant sleep. While the Infant Sleep Product Rule that went into effect in June of 2022 requires any infant sleep products manufactured after that date to pass the safety standards listed in the rule, unsafe secondhand products are still on the market.

Those are the basics, but here’s some more information that isn’t as well known

Dress – How you dress your baby for sleep is also extremely important. You want to avoid things such as hats, hoods, headbands, jewelry, and strings of any kind. Feel the skin on the child’s torso to ensure that they aren’t too warm.

Their skin should feel warmish, not hot and not cold. Be aware that extremities such as hands and feet aren’t indicators of core temperature and it’s quite normal for those to be on the cooler side in infants. If you’re worried, always feel free to bring it up to your pediatrician.

If you’re swaddling their arms, ensure you stop doing so as soon as they show any signs of trying to roll over, even if they’re trying when they’re awake.

Excursions – If your baby falls asleep in a car seat or a stroller when you’re traveling, move them to a safe sleeping space as soon as it’s safe to do so. Ways to avoid this include only using the car seat in the car, using a stroller with a bassinet attachment, or babywearing following the TICKS babywearing guidelines in a hip healthy carrier.

Firm – Mattresses for the crib should be firm and fit the dimensions listed in your crib manual. Thankfully, crib mattresses manufactured after August 15, 2022, are subject to a mattress safety standard that addresses the issue of firmness.

Location – Roomsharing is a protective factor and recommended for the first six months of an infant’s life. Placement of the sleep space within the room is also very important. The space should ideally be easily accessible to the parent, but not so close that any bedding from the adult bed could get in. One foot or an arm’s length away is a good way to have them nearby without risking those hazards. Any cords or strings should be 3 feet away and well out of reach. If that isn’t possible, adhere them to the wall in such a way that they can’t be accessed.

For more information, visit our website Safeinfantsleep.org.