Experts: Let baby sleep near mother

PITTSBURGH — To further reduce the risk of sleep-related deaths in infants, children’s health experts Monday issued updated safe-sleeping guidelines that emphasize the importance of a baby sleeping in the same room — but not the same bed — as the mother.

And in what might be a surprise to many new parents, the American Academy of Pediatrics is urging that babies sleep in their parents’ bedrooms for at least the first six months, and, optimally, until the baby is 1 year old.

After reviewing research on sudden infant death syndrome, the AAP is reinforcing previous advice that the safest way to put an infant down to sleep is on the baby’s back and be in a separate bed near the mother.

Dannai Harriel, program manager of Allegheny Count y ’s Mat e r n a l a n d C h i l d Health Program, said sharing a room is already popular with some families. “I think it will reinforce what families want to believe,” she said. “They want to be close to their children.”

The county program’s continuing challenge, however, is to keep parents from sharing their own bed with their baby, she said.

“We can say to our families: This is a win for you.”

A member o f t h e t a s k force that developed the AAP guidelines, Lori Feldman-Winter of Cooper University Hospital in Camden, N.J., said, “Studies were done showing you can decrease (SIDS) risk by 50 percent and they included infants up to 1 year,” she said. The highest risk of death by SIDS occurs in infants under 6 months old.

“We know from additional evidence, room-sharing facilitated breastfeeding,” Dr. Feldman-Winter said, adding that exclusive breastfeeding has been linked to reducing the risk of SIDS by up to 70 percent.

It’s the ac ademy’s first update of safe-sleep guidelines in five years. Key recommendations include:

■ Baby sleeps on his back, on a firm sleep surface such as a crib or bassinet with a tight-fitting sheet.

■ T h e c r i b s h o u l d b e e mpt y: no s of t bedding , including bumpers, blankets, pillows and soft toys.

■ Put baby to sleep on a separate surface in the parents’ bedroom.

■ Skin-to-skin care should start immediately after delivery, for at least an hour.

■ Breastfeeding is recommended. After feeding, the baby should be moved to his or her separate sleeping surface.

Other recommendations include offering a pacifier at sleep time after breastfeeding is established, keeping a child up to date with vaccinations, regular tummy time while awake and avoiding use of home monitors or other devices that claim to reduce the risk of SIDS.