Safe bed-sharing Guide

Safe bed-sharing Guide:

• Take precautions to prevent baby from rolling out of bed and ensure there is no crevice that baby could slip into.
• Place baby adjacent to mother, rather than between mother and father.
• Place baby to sleep on her back.
• Ensure all blankets are kept well away from baby and do not put baby on a pillow or use a duvet on a baby's bed.
• Use a large bed, preferably a queen-size or king-size.
• For some parents and babies a bedside co-sleeper is a safer option.

Do not sleep with your baby if:

• You are under the influence of any drug (such as alcohol or tranquilizing medications) that diminishes your sensitivity to your baby's presence.
• You are obese.
• You are exhausted from sleep deprivation.
• You are breastfeeding a baby on a cushiony surface, such as a waterbed or couch.
• You are the child's baby-sitter.
• Do not bed share with your baby if you or your partner smoke.
• Don't allow older siblings to sleep with a baby under nine months.
• Don't fall asleep with baby on a couch.
• Do not allow pets to sleep on the same bed as your baby.
• Do not sleep with baby on a free-floating, wavy waterbed or similar "sinky" surface.
• Don't overheat or overwrap baby.
• Don't wear nightwear with long strings or dangling jewelry longer than eight inches.
• Avoid pungent hair sprays, deodorants, and perfumes which may irritate and clog baby's tiny nasal passage.

Great Bed-sharing Links

• Breastfeed in your sleep
• James J. McKenna's Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Laboratory
• Dr. Sears Addresses Recent Co-Sleeping Concerns
• Bedsharing and SIDS: The Whole Truth
• Bed-Sharing and Co-Sleeping: Research Overview