Reduce the risk

of cot death

• Placeyourbabyonthebacktosleep,

inacotinaroomwithyou

• Donotsmokeinpregnancyorletanyone

smokeinthesameroomasyourbaby

• Donotshareabedwithyourbabyifyou

havebeendrinkingalcohol,ifyoutakedrugs

orifyouareasmoker

•Neversleepwithyourbabyonasofaorarmchair
• Donotletyourbabygettoohot keepyour

baby’sheaduncovered placeyourbabyin
the“feettofoot”position

2

sleep on

the back

ThesafesTPlace foryour

babyTosleePisoNTheback,

iNacoTiNaroomwiThyou

3

Place your baby on

the back to sleep from

the very beginning

for both day and

night sleeps.

Thiswillreducethe
riskofcotdeath.side
sleepingisnotassafe
assleepingontheback.
healthybabiesplaced
ontheirbacksarenot
morelikelytochoke.
whenthebabyisold
enoughtorolloverthey
shouldnotbeprevented
fromdoingso.

babiesmayget
flatteningofthepart
oftheheadtheylie
on(plagiocephaly).
Thiswillbecome
rounderagainasthey
grow,particularlyif
theyareencouraged
tolieontheirtummies
toplaywhenthey
areawakeandbeing
supervised.experiencing
arangeofdifferent
positionsandavariety
ofmovementwhile
awakeisalsogoodfor
ababy’sdevelopment.

The safest place for

your baby to sleep

is in a cot in a room

with you for the first

six months.

If you or your partner:
• aresmokers

(nomatterwhere
orwhenyousmoke
andevenifyounever
smokeinbed);

• haverecently

drunkalcohol;

• havetaken

medicationordrugs
thatmakeyousleep
moreheavily;

• feelverytired;
do not share a bed
with your baby.

Therisksofbedsharing
arealsoincreasedif
yourbaby:
• waspremature(born

before37weeks);

• wasoflowbirth

weight(lessthan
2.5kgor5.5lb)

Thereisalsoariskthat
youmightrolloverin
yoursleepandsuffocate
yourbaby,orthatyour
babycouldgetcaught
betweenthewalland
thebed,orcouldroll
outofanadultbedand
beinjured.

Never sleep with a baby
on a sofa or armchair.
it’slovelytohaveyour
babywithyoufora
cuddleorafeedbutit’s
safesttoputyourbaby
backintheircotbefore
yougotosleep.

Placeyourbaby oNThebackTosleeP

NeVersleePwiThababyoNasofaorarmchair

4

t smoke

don’

near your baby

cuTouTsmokiNgDuriNg

PregNaNcy–ParTNersToo!

5

Smoking in

pregnancy greatly

increases

the risk of

cot death. It is best

not to smoke at all.

ifyouarepregnantand
wanttogiveup,please
calltheNhsPregnancy
smokinghelplineon
0800 169 9 169.

The more you smoke the

greater the risk

1–9

10–19

20plus

Numberofcigarettessmoked/day

x10

x8

increaseinrisk

x6

x4

x2

0

DoN’TleTaNyoNesmokeiN

Thesameroomasyourbaby

Babies exposed to

cigarette smoke

after birth are also

at an increased risk

of cot death.

Nobodyshould
smokeinthehouse,
includingvisitors.
anyonewhoneeds
tosmokeshould
gooutside.Donot
takeyourbabyinto
smokyplaces.ifyou
areasmoker,sharing
abedwithyourbaby
increasestheriskof
cotdeath.

For practical and friendly
advice on giving up
smoking, please call the
NHS Pregnancy Smoking
Helpline on

0800 169 9 169

.

ProTecTyourbabyfromcigareTTesmoke

6

7

t let

don’

your baby overheat

DoN’TleTyourbaby

geTToohoT(orToocolD)

Overheating can

increase the risk of

cot death. Babies can

overheat because of

too much bedding or

clothing, or because

the room is too hot.

• ifyourbabyis

sweatingortheir
tummyfeelshotto
thetouch,takeoff
someofthebedding.
Don’tworryifyour
baby’shandsor

feetfeelcool,thisis
normal.

• itiseasiertoadjust

forthetemperature
withchangesof
lightweightblankets.
remember,afolded
blanketcountsas
twoblankets.

• babiesdonot

needhotrooms;
all-nightheating
israrelynecessary.
keeptheroomata
temperaturethatis
comfortableforyou
atnight.about18°c
(65°f)iscomfortable.

• ifitisverywarm,

yourbabymaynot
needanybedclothes
otherthanasheet.

• eveninwinter,most

babieswhoareunwell
orfeverishdonot
needextraclothes.

• b

abiesshouldnever
sleepwithahotwater
bottleorelectric
blanket,nexttoa
radiator,heaterorfire,
orindirectsunshine.

• babiesloseexcessheat

fromtheirheads,so
makesuretheirheads
cannotbecovered
bybedclothesduring
sleepperiods.

28
26

sheeToNly

24

Toohot

20

16

°c

18

22

1blaNkeT

comfortable

2blaNkeTs

Toocold

14

3blaNkeTs

12

4blaNkeTs

10

These guidelines
are for babies
wearing a nappy,
vest and a sleep suit,
covered by a sheet.

Remove hats and extra
clothing as soon as you
come indoors or enter a
warm car, bus or train,
even if it means waking
your baby.

DoN’TleTyourbabygeTToohoT(orToocolD)

8

9

in the crib

feet to foot

DoN’TleTyourbaby’s

heaDbecomecoVereD

Babies whose heads

are covered with

bedding are at

an increased risk

of cot death.

Topreventyourbaby
wrigglingdownunder
thecovers,placeyour
baby

feet to foot

in

thecrib,cotorpram.
makethecoversup
sothattheyreach
nohigherthanthe
shoulders.coversshould
besecurelytuckedin
sotheycannotslipover
thebaby’shead.use
oneormorelayersof
lightweightblankets.

sleepyourbabyon
amattressthatisfirm,
flat,well-fittingand
clean.Theoutsideof
themattressshould
bewaterproof.
coverthemattress
withasinglesheet.

rememberdonotuse
duvets,quilts,baby
nests,wedges,bedding
rollsorpillows.

feeDiNg

Breastfeeding your

baby reduces the risk

of cot death.

it’simportantto
breastfeedyourbaby.
breastmilkgivesbabies
allthenutrientsthey
needforthefirstsix
monthsoflifeandhelps
protectthemfrom
infection.italsoreduces
mothers’chancesof
gettingcertaindiseases
laterinlifeandallows
youandyourbabyto
getcloserbothphysically
andemotionally.it’s
naturaltohavequestions
orneedsomeextra
supporttobreastfeed
successfully.

your
midwife,
health
visitoror
gPcanhelp.

itispossiblethatusing
adummyatthestart
ofanysleepperiod
reducestheriskofcot
death.Donotbegin
togiveadummyuntil
breastfeedingiswell-
established,usuallywhen
thebabyisaroundone
monthold.stopgiving
thedummywhenthe
babyisbetween6and12

monthsold.

keePyourbaby’sheaDuNcoVereD aNDsleePThem“feeTTofooT”

10

omptly

pr

seek advice

ifyourbabyisuNwellseek

meDicalaDVicePromPTly

11

Babies often have minor

illnesses which you do

not need to worry about.

makesureyourbabydrinks
plentyoffluidsandisnot
toohot.ifyourbabysleeps
alot,wakehimorher
regularlyforadrink.

itmaybedifficulttojudge
whetheranillnessismore
seriousandrequiresprompt
medicalattention.The
followingguidelinesmay
helpyou.

SeRIOuS IllNeSS

Theremaybeseriousillness
ifyourbabyhasanyofthe
followingsymptoms:
• hasahighpitched

orweakcry,isless
responsive,ismuchless
activeormorefloppy
thanusual;

• looksverypaleallover,

gruntswitheachbreath,

seemstobeworking
hardtobreathewhen
youlookattheirchest
andtummy;

• takeslessthanathirdof

usualfluids,passesmuch
lessurinethanusual,
vomitsgreenfluid,or
passesbloodintheirstools;

• hasafeverof38ºor

aboveifthebabyisless
than3months,or
39ºoraboveif
3to6monthsold;

• isdehydrated–dry

mouth,notears,sunken
eyes,orsoftspotonthe
baby’sheadissunken;

• hasarashthatdoesnot

disappearwithpressure.

urgent medical

attention is needed

if your baby:

• stopsbreathingor

goesblue;

• isunresponsiveand

showsnoawareness
ofwhatisgoingon;

• hasglazedeyesand

doesnotfocuson
anything;

• cannotbewoken;
• hasafit,evenifyour

babyrecoverswithout
medicalattention;

DIAl 999 and ask for an

ambulance.

MONITORS

Normalhealthybabies
donotneedabreathing
monitor.someparents
findthatusinga
breathingmonitor
reassuresthem.however,
thereisnoevidencethat
monitorspreventcot
death.ifyouhaveany
worriesaboutyourbaby,
askyourdoctoraboutthe
beststepstotake.

IMMuNISATION

immunisation reduces
theriskofcotdeath.

rememberThaTcoTDeaThisrare;

so please don’t let worry about it stop you enjoying
your baby’s first few months. Research is continuing
to help us understand more about cot death.

ifyourbabyseemsuNwell seekmeDicalaDViceearlyaNDQuickly

If you have questions or want more information on reducing

the risk of cot death, or to buy a simple room thermometer

for your baby, contact the Foundation for the Study of Infant

Deaths (FSID):

Telephone: [phone]

Email: offi [e-mail]

Website: www.fsid.org.uk

For the research evidence that backs the advice in this leafl et

go to www.fsid.org.uk/factfi le_2.html

The information in this leafl et will reduce the risk of cot death,

but it is not guaranteed to prevent it altogether.

Since parents and carers have
been following the risk reduction
advice, the number of babies
dying has fallen by over 70%.

© Crown copyright 2009

Produced by COI for the Department of Health

292301 1p 500k Feb 09
If you require further copies of this leafl et, quote

292301/Reduce the risk of cot death and contact:
DH Publications Orderline

Email: [e-mail]

Tel: [phone]

Fax: [phone]

Minicom: 0300 123 1003

www.dh.gov.uk