Red Nose recommends baby sleeps on the back, ensuring that his/her face and head remains uncovered during sleep.
A good way to achieve this is to place baby in a safe infant sleeping bag (a safe infant sleeping bag is designed especially for baby, with fitted neck and armholes and no hood).
If a blanket is being used instead of a sleeping bag, ensure baby is placed with his/her feet at the end of the cot, tucking the blanket in securely underneath the mattress, so it can only ride up as far as baby’s chest and cannot cover his/her head.
Ensure there is no soft bedding in baby’s sleep environment. Soft bedding (pillows, doonas, loose bedding or fabric, lambswool, bumpers or soft toys) in the cot is unnecessary and may cover baby’s face and obstruct baby’s breathing.
See ‘gallery’ at right for illustrations.
Last modified: 29/9/16
