To prevent infant deaths due to soft bedding, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development are revising their recommendations on safe bedding practices when putting infants down to sleep. Here are the revised recommendations to follow for infants under 12 months:
- Place baby on his/her back on a firm tight-fitting mattress in a crib that meets current safety standards.
- Remove pillows, quilts, comforters, sheepskins, pillow-like stuffed toys, and other soft products from the crib.
- Consider using a sleeper or other sleep clothing as an alternative to blankets, with no other covering.
- If using a blanket, put baby with feet at the foot of the crib. Tuck a thin blanket around the crib mattress, reaching only as far as the baby's chest.
- Make sure your baby's head remains uncovered during sleep.
- Do not place baby on a waterbed, sofa, soft mattress, pillow, or other soft surface to sleep.
Placing babies to sleep on their backs instead of their stomachs has been associated with a dramatic decrease in deaths from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Babies have been found dead on their stomachs with their faces, noses, and mouths covered by soft bedding, such as pillows, quilts, comforters and sheepskins. However, some babies have been found dead with their heads covered by soft bedding even while sleeping on their backs.