Parents urged to follow safe bedtime advice as co-sleeping deaths revealed

Parents and carers are being urged to follow advice on safe sleeping with infants after figures showed 19 babies died last year while co-sleeping.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) led a number of investigations into the sudden and unexpected deaths of babies.

In 2023, COPFS received 74 reports of babies who had died. Nineteen died while cosleeping and of these deaths, 12 involved alcohol or drugs being consumed by their parents or carer before co-sleeping.

Solicitor General for Scotland Ruth Charteris urged families to follow safe sleeping advice. She said: “Sudden infant deaths are rare, but are without doubt one of the most devastating tragedies that a family could experience. I send my deepest condolences to everyone who has suffered such an overwhelming loss.

“The findings of COPFS’S investigations highlight that continuing efforts to promote safer sleep practices with parents are vitally important.

“We can see that overall, safer sleep advice has worked to save the lives of thousands of babies. However, I am saddened and greatly concerned by our findings which show unsafe co-sleeping is still happening.

“I can understand the challenges of getting enough sleep as a family, but expert advice should be followed. The evidence of the cases reported to the procurator fiscal shows that, tragically, babies can and do die in high-risk co-sleeping situations.”

Safer sleep advice includes ensuring babies are on their backs, not their front or side, before going to sleep.

Parents are also advised to ensure their child’s sleeping space is clear, with no raised cushion areas. Guidance states it is dangerous to sleep with a baby if you or anyone in the bed has recently drunk any alcohol, smokes, has taken any drugs that make them feel sleepy, or if the baby was born prematurely or weighed under 5lb 8oz at birth.

In these scenarios, advice states it is always best to put the baby in their own safe sleeping space, such as a cot or a Moses basket.