Your Health: Discussing safe sleep for babies

A sleep routine for baby can help create peace of mind for caregivers. With a little practice, your baby can get into a sleep routine that helps them know that it is time to sleep. The routine can start with a bath, a feeding followed by reading and rocking. Now that it is time to put baby to sleep, make sure the environment is safe. The Academy of American Pediatrics shares these recommendations:

1. Place the baby on his or her back for all sleep times – naps and at night. When they are too young to turn themselves over, this is the safest way to sleep.

2. Use a crib, bassinet, or portable play yard with a firm, flat mattress and a fitted sheet. Avoid sleeping on a couch or armchair or in a seating device, like a swing or car safety seat. The only time a baby should sleep in a car safety seat is while riding in a car.

3. Keep soft bedding such as blankets, pillows, bumper pads, and soft toys out of the baby’s sleep area. If you are concerned about the baby staying warm enough, light sleep clothing, like a sleep sack, can help the baby sleep comfortably without overheating or using blankets. Swaddling can be used until the baby is 2 months old.

4. Have baby share your room, not your bed. Ideally, infants sleep in the parent’s room for the first 6 months.

Many products can be purchased to monitor heart beats or breathing of infants. Consumer wellness devices that can be purchased without a prescription, are not regulated in the same way as medical devices.

Although these monitors may give parents peace of mind, they do not substitute for the previous Safe Sleep for Babies recommendations. Instead, to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends

- Avoid smoke and nicotine exposure during pregnancy and after birth.

- Avoid alcohol, marijuana, opioids, and illicit drug use during pregnancy and after birth

- During sleep, avoid overheating and head covering in infants.

- Pacifiers can be offered at naptime and bedtime to reduce the risk of SIDS. Breastfed babies should wait until breastfeeding is firmly established.

- Regular prenatal care.

- Infants should be immunized in accordance with the guidelines from the AAP and CDC.

- Encourage tummy time while the infant is awake and supervised. The goal is to reach 15-30 minutes daily by 7 weeks of age.

- Weighted blankets are another popular product. The American Academy of Pediatrics does NOT recommend use of weighted blankets, weighted sleepers, weighted swaddlers, or other weighted objects for sleeping infants.

If you have questions about safe sleep for babies, ask your healthcare provider or contact City-County Health District at 845-8518.

Kristen Bear is a registered nurse for City-County Health District. Your Health is coordinated by CityCounty Health District.