Safer Sleep & the Breastfed Baby

“In most parts of the world… babies sleep close to their mothers, as they have through most of history.” – The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding

A baby is born expecting to stay in close contact with his mother night and day, in order to keep safe, warm and well-fed.

It is perfectly normal for babies—especially breastfed babies—to wake and feed at night throughout at least the first year. Bedsharing when breastfeeding is a traditional way of caring for a baby at night—breastfeeding at night can be a whole lot easier when you take your baby into bed with you and feed lying down.

Breastfeeding mothers who bedshare get more sleep than bottlefeeding mothers¹ and breastfeed for longer.² Alternatively, co-sleeping may give your baby the closeness he craves and make breastfeeding easier without sharing the same sleep surface as you.

It is possible to bedshare with twins, but co-sleeping rather than bedsharing is recommended if they were premature or low birth-weight.

Infant sleep–what are the risks?
The Safe Sleep Seven
Meeting Everyone’s Needs
Sleep Safely
Easy Nights

Infant sleep–what are the risks?

Accidents

Babies sleep in a variety of places at different times. Wherever a baby sleeps an accidental injury is possible. A baby could become wedged between furniture or against a parent’s body, fall off the sleep surface or risk suffocation or strangulation by pillows, cords or blankets.

Anything that reduces your alertness or ability to respond to your baby, such as alcohol, drugs or certain medications, can pose a risk and may impair your judgement.

Breastfed babies orient themselves near their mother’s breast in bed. Research³ shows that mothers who bedshare with their breastfed babies adopt a naturally protective position, making smothering unlikely. This has been referred to as the ‘cuddle curl’ position.

SIDS

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), or cot death, is a sudden unexpected infant death (usually occurring during sleep) that can’t be explained by a medical condition, infection, intentional harm, or accidental causes.

What makes a baby vulnerable
SIDS can happen in any sleep situation, but research has shown that SIDS only happens to baby who are vulnerable. We don’t know exactly which factors cause vulnerability, but they include⁴:

baby being less than four months old
prenatal exposure to harmful chemicals including smoke and alcohol
preterm or low brith weight baby (under 2.5kg).

SIDs risk factors
The following factors increase the risk of SIDS for a vulnerable baby, wherever they sleep⁵.

Exposure to smoke can affect a baby’s ability to rouse from sleep. The risk is related to how much exposure a baby has. It is always a good idea to reduce your baby’s exposure to smoke wherever they sleep, but if you are a smoker you should not share a sleep surface with your baby. Smoking is the biggest SIDS risk.
Placing a baby on his front to sleep may affect his ability to arouse and to breathe. ‘Back to Sleep’ campaigns have reduced SIDS in many Western countries. Bedsharing breastfeeding mothers often nurse in a side-lying position—when a baby comes off the breast they naturally rolls onto their back. A baby who can roll back and forth can choose his own sleep position.
Being unattended.
During all sleep (daytime and nightime), a baby’s risk of SIDS is lower if they are in the same room as you.
Formula-feeding (including combi-feeding) imposes a statistically significant higher risk of SIDS.

The Safe Sleep Seven⁶

Breastfeeding mothers who meet the criteria below are statistically low risk and can bedshare with confidence.
You need to be:

A non-smoker
Sober (no drugs, alcohol, or medications that could make you drowsy)
Breastfeeding

Your baby needs to be:

Healthy and full term (with a birth weight above 2.5kg)
Sleeping on their back when they are not breastfeeding
Unswaddled and lightly dressed

You both need to be:

On a safe surface. Never sleep with your baby on a sofa or armchair.

Make an informed decision
Use the information above along with our checklist below to evaluate your baby’s different sleeping places and your own family circumstances, to reduce the risk of an accident or SIDS wherever you and your baby sleep.

Meeting Everyone’s Needs

If you are struggling to reconcile your own sleep needs with those of your baby, then talking with an LLL Leader may be helpful. At an LLL meeting you can find out how other families meet the sleep needs of their sleep needs in different ways and at different stages.
Find local support here. Call our helpline: 0345 120 2918

Photo courtesy: Rosie Rowe

Co-sleeping or bedsharing?⁷

Bedsharing: adults and infants sharing the same surface for sleep.

Co-sleeping: parents and infants sleeping in close proximity, but not necessarily on the same surface eg in a bedside cot or a sidecar cot attached to the bed.

Some studies combine sofa sleeping with bedsharing, making it more difficult to separate the risk factors for each scenario. See Further Reading for more details, or for more information on these definitions, see here.

Sleep safely

Sleep tips

Do
✔ Place your baby to sleep on their back.
✔ Keep your sleeping baby close day and night, not in a room alone.
✔ Avoid exposing your baby to cigarette smoke at any time as this increases the risk of SIDS.
✔ Place your baby with his feet to the foot of any cot, crib or pram.
✔ Sleep facing your baby in bed (your thigh should prevent him slipping under the covers).
✔ Check your baby’s sleeping place for hazards:

Choose a firm, flat, clean, well-fitting mattress and cover with a close-fitting sheet.
Check for gaps that they might get trapped in..
Ensure they can’t fall out.
Choose clothes without strings or ties that could cause strangulation.

✔ Check your baby does not get too hot or too cold whilst sleeping. In hot weather, open a window or use a fan.
✔ Keep pets out of your baby’s bed.

NEVER leave your sleeping baby:

✘ Near a fire or radiator, or in full sun.
✘ Wearing warm outdoor clothing when indoors.

NEVER sleep with your baby:

✘ On a sofa or armchair.
✘ If he is swaddled.

Bedsharing tips

When bedsharing do
✔ Sleep facing your baby in bed (your thigh should prevent them slipping under the covers).
✔ Keep pillows and your covers away from your baby.
✔ Ensure anyone in the bed knows your baby is there.
✔ Keep an adult between any older children and your baby in bed.

Don’t bedshare
✘ If any person in the bed is a smoker (even if they never smoke in bed).
✘ On a soft mattress. It isn’t known whether memory foam mattresses are a problem.
✘ If any person in the bed has drunk alcohol, taken drugs (legal or illegal) that could make them extra sleepy, or is too exhausted to be aware of your baby.
✘ If any person in the bed has an illness or condition that affects their awareness of your baby.

Once you can safely and comfortably feed your baby while lying down, you’ve elimated much of the work of mothering for eight of the 24 hours in a day.

Easy Nights

You may find that different sleeping arrangements work at different times. Being inventive and focusing on how you and your family can get the most sleep tonight can help. Some of these ideas may work for you, but because only you know your own circumstances, always keep safety in mind.

Extra space can help. Try:
• Using a cot designed for co-sleeping.
• Pushing your baby’s cot right up to your bed. Lower the side and raise the base for easy access at night; secure the cot to your bed.
• Using a larger bed.
• Putting a single bed at the side for your partner, if you have one, to sleep on—keep your baby away from the gap in the mattresses.

Avoid tumbles by:
• Using a mesh guard rail – but make sure there is no gap between the rail and the bed.
• Taking the legs off the bed or putting the mattress on the floor.

Keep comfortable by:
• Wearing a cardigan to keep your arms warm.
• Dressing your baby in light clothes to avoid overheating.
• Putting an extra thick nappy on your baby to avoid unnecessary changes in the night.
• Keeping a towel handy in case of damp nappies or leaking milk.

Learn to feed lying down by:
• Practising in the daytime!
• Keeping a low light on.
• Going to a La Leche League meeting and learning from other mothers.
• Watching our video on breastfeeding while lying on your side:

These safety tips apply to healthy full-term breastfed infants. Preterm and low birth weight babies are more vulnerable. If your baby seems unwell, seek medical advice promptly. Remember that safety tips can help reduce the risk of SIDS and accidents wherever your baby sleeps, but cannot eliminate the risk altogether.

Written by Sue Cardus, Karen Butler, Sue Upstone, Bronwyn Davies & mothers of La Leche League GB.