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:
 Safe
Bedding Practices For Infants * 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. A
Safe Sleeping Environment
For Your Baby
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.
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
www.cpsc.gov
1-800-638-2772
American Academy of Pediatrics
www.aap.org National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development
"Back to Sleep" Campaign
1-800-505-CRIB
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