Julie
Hello, Hope this finds you well. I wanted to ask about safe sleep for newborn baby. It's recommended that newborn sleeps in parents bedroom for the first 6 to 12mnths but we've just moved to a new house and have very little room to fit our King bed plus baby bassinet... Would it not be ideal to have her in the room next door and keep a monitor on her.. I ofcourse will be in an out of the room to breastfeed but this seems like the only way to make it work or we buy a smaller bed to all fit in the room.. What's your professional opinion about this given SIDS Statistics etc Please help
Red Nose Education
Red Nose does recommend Room Sharing, for all sleeps, for the first 6 - 12 months as part of reducing the risk of Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI)
However, many parents are unable to room share for various reasons.
The baby’s sleep environment would take priority over room sharing.
Red Nose has the following information
Parents are not expected to observe their baby constantly.
If your baby is sleeping in a separate room check baby regularly to ensure that the baby remains on the back and the head and face remain uncovered (as baby grows beyond 5-6 months they will move around the cot and roll over; settle baby to sleep on their back but let them find the sleep position they feel most comfortable in.
A safe cot and safe sleep environment is still necessary for babies older than 5-6 months)
The protective effect of room sharing can be partially explained by increased adult supervision and observation of the baby.
Room-sharing facilitates a rapid response to a baby’s needs, and supports breastfeeding, and is more convenient settling and comforting of babies. It also provides closer mother-baby contact and communication
https://rednose.org.au/article/room-sharing-with-baby
Many parents do use a monitor as part of supervision of their baby however it is important to always ensure:
baby is placed on back for sleep
keep baby’s head & face uncovered
sleep baby in safe environment for day & night time sleeps
baby is kept smoke free
breastfeed