Why dozing on sofa with baby can prove fatal
‘Many fall asleep unintentionally’
PARENTS may be putting their babies in danger by nodding off with them on a sofa or armchair.
Sleeping this way can raise a baby’s risk of sudden infant death syndrome 50-fold.
However, a survey has found that two in five parents have done so – and a quarter have done it on more than one occasion.
Meanwhile, parents are also advised to put babies to sleep in a bed or cot because a firm mattress allows heat to escape from the backs of their heads. When a baby’s head sinks into a soft chair, the heat cannot escape as efficiently, raising the risk of overheating.
Some experts believe this is one cause of sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS – the unexpected death of a healthy baby.
Babies sleeping on a sofa or chair can also become trapped and suffocate. Parents can safely co-sleep with children in some situations, but the UK charity Lullaby Trust, which carried out the survey, has warned doing so on a sofa or chair, or after drinking or smoking, could pose a risk.
Jenny Ward of the Lullaby Trust said: ‘Even if parents do not plan to co-sleep, many still fall asleep with babies unintentionally.
‘Babies can and do die in high-risk co-sleeping situations.’
The charity, which works to raise awareness of SIDS, found that 40% of the 8,500 parents surveyed had coslept with a baby in an unsafe situation.