Whats the best way to lay my baby down at night?
After decades of telling mothers to place infants on their stomachs, we now recommend that they be placed on their backs–backs, not sides. A number of years ago it was discovered that having an infant sleep on its stomach was associated with an increase risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS. It is not the sole cause but it is a risk factor. Initially, it was suggested that infants could be placed on their sides. Now we have data that suggests the back is a safer position that the side also. So…BACK TO SLEEP. Contrary to what doctors told parents a generation ago, infants laying on their backs do not spit up more and are not more likely to choke if they do spit up. An infant develops a sleeping preference early on so start from early on laying your baby on his back. It is also important that babies sleep in a bassinet and not the parents’ bed. Sleeping in the parents’ bed can lead to accidental suffocation.
