Q&A Forum

10/5/21

Emma

Hi, my son is 5 months old and able to roll both ways well. He has just moved into the cot in his own room and straight away started rolling from his back onto his tummy to sleep and faceplants the mattress. I’m worried about suffocation. Is there a way to prevent him sleeping on his face? Thanks.

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Posted a response on 11/5/21

Red Nose Education

Most babies will be rolling over by 4- 6 months. This is very normal as babies grow & become stronger.
Many babies then prefer to sleep on their tummy.
This is not something that needs to be stopped. It is important to make his new environment as safe as possible.

Ensure that the mattress is firm & flat & there is nothing soft or loose in his cot, especially as he is face planting at times.
Some babies just seem to face plant, but it mostly is brief. This is when it is particularly important that the mattress is firm, & there is nothing loose or soft in the cot.
You can try to turn his face if you see him with face down, but often, like rolling to tummy, babies will just go back to the position of comfort.
Always place baby on back to sleep.
Increase tummy time when awake.
If you are still wrapping him, this need to be ceased - he needs his arms free.

Red Nose has the following information now that your baby is starting to roll.

Give baby extra tummy time to play when awake and supervised as this helps baby to develop stronger neck and upper body muscles which in turn enables them to roll back over.
Make sure that baby is on a firm and well-fitting mattress that is flat (not tilted or elevated).
Make sure that baby’s face and head remains uncovered (do not use lambswool, doonas, pillows, cot bumpers or soft toys)

As babies grow and develop they become very active and learn to roll around the cot.
At this time, continue to put them on the back at the start of sleep time, but let them find their own position of comfort.
By this stage it is not necessary to wake during the night to turn baby over to the back position

Do not use any devices designed to keep baby in a particular sleep position.
https://rednose.org.au/article/what-do-we-do-now-that-a-baby-has-started-to-roll-over

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