Of all the baby advice you will hear, safe sleep is the part worth getting exactly right. The good news: the core guidelines are simple, free, and easy to follow once they become habit. You do not need expensive gear. You mostly need a firm, flat sleep space and a few clear rules.
This guide summarizes the safe sleep guidelines for babies recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), with practical tips for real life, including those 2 a.m. moments when you are too tired to think.
Why safe sleep matters
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and other sleep-related infant deaths, such as accidental suffocation, are most common in the first six months of life. Since public health campaigns began encouraging parents to place babies on their backs to sleep, rates of SIDS have dropped substantially. Following the guidelines below is the most effective thing parents can do to lower the risk.
The ABCs of safe sleep
An easy way to remember the basics is the ABCs:
- A – Alone. Your baby sleeps in their own sleep space, with no other people, pets, pillows, blankets or toys.
- B – Back. Place your baby on their back for every sleep, naps included, until their first birthday.
- C – Crib. Use a crib, bassinet or play yard with a firm, flat mattress and a fitted sheet. Nothing else.
Many people add an S for Smoke-free: keep your baby's environment free of smoke and vapor, both during pregnancy and after birth.
Always on the back, every sleep
Place your baby on their back for naps and nighttime sleep. Healthy babies naturally protect their airway, and back-sleeping does not increase the risk of choking, even if they spit up.
Once your baby can roll both ways (back to tummy and tummy to back) on their own, you do not need to flip them back over if they roll during sleep. Keep putting them down on their back, though, and keep the crib empty.
Supervised tummy time while your baby is awake is still important for building neck and shoulder strength and helps prevent flat spots on the head.
Setting up a safe crib
A safe sleep space is a plain, almost boring one. Here is what it should include:
- A firm, flat, level mattress. It should not indent when your baby lies on it and should fit snugly in the crib, with no gaps.
- A fitted sheet made for that specific mattress.
- A crib, bassinet or play yard that meets current Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) safety standards. Avoid older cribs with drop sides or missing hardware.
And what it should not include:
- Pillows, loose blankets, quilts or duvets
- Crib bumpers of any kind, including mesh bumpers
- Stuffed animals and soft toys
- Sleep positioners or wedges
- Anything attached to the crib, such as cords, cables or monitors
For more on building a calm, safe space, see our guide to the perfect nursery setup for sleep.
Room-sharing without bed-sharing
The AAP recommends that babies sleep in the parents' room, on a separate sleep surface, ideally for at least the first six months. Keeping the crib or bassinet close to your bed makes feeding and comforting easier, and room-sharing is associated with a lower risk of SIDS.
Bed-sharing is not recommended. If you do bring your baby into your bed to feed or comfort them, place them back in their own sleep space when you are ready to sleep. If you think you might fall asleep while feeding, it is safer to do it in an adult bed cleared of pillows and blankets than on a sofa or armchair, which carry a much higher risk.
Wondering when to make the move? Read when to move your baby to their own room.
What to avoid
Inclined and sitting devices
Babies should sleep on a flat surface. Inclined sleepers are not safe for sleep. If your baby falls asleep in a car seat, stroller, swing or bouncer, move them to a firm, flat sleep space as soon as you can. Car seats are designed for travel, not routine sleep outside the car.
Overheating
Dress your baby in no more than one layer more than you would wear to be comfortable. Hats are not needed indoors for sleep. Signs of overheating include sweating, a flushed face or a hot chest.
Weighted products
Weighted sleep sacks, weighted swaddles and weighted blankets are not recommended for infants.
Soft surfaces
Never let your baby sleep on a sofa, armchair, waterbed, adult pillow or soft mattress.
Swaddles and sleep sacks
A wearable blanket or sleep sack is a great alternative to loose blankets. Swaddling can help calm young babies, but a few rules apply:
- Always place a swaddled baby on their back.
- Keep the swaddle snug around the chest but loose around the hips so the legs can bend and move.
- Stop swaddling as soon as your baby shows signs of trying to roll, which often happens around 3 to 4 months.
Other ways to lower the risk
- Offer a pacifier at nap time and bedtime once breastfeeding is well established. Do not force it, and do not reattach it if it falls out during sleep.
- Breastfeed if you can. Any amount of breast milk is associated with a lower risk of SIDS.
- Keep up with well-baby checkups and vaccinations.
- Avoid smoke, alcohol and drugs around your baby, and never sleep next to your baby after using substances that make you drowsy.
What about baby monitors?
A baby monitor can bring real peace of mind, letting you hear and see your baby from another room. It is important to understand what a monitor is and is not, though. A video or audio monitor is a convenience, not a safety device, and it does not replace safe sleep practices.
The AAP does not recommend using home cardiorespiratory monitors, including consumer wearable devices, as a way to reduce the risk of SIDS. Those products have not been shown to lower the risk and can create a false sense of security.
If you use a monitor, place it safely:
- Keep the camera device and any charging cable at least 3 feet (1 meter) from the crib, fully out of your baby's reach.
- Never attach anything to the crib rails.
- Route cords along the wall, away from the sleep space.
If you use BlinkBaby, the same rules apply to the iPhone or iPad you use as the camera: place it on a shelf or dresser well away from the crib, with the cable secured out of reach. Our guide on where to place a baby monitor covers this in more detail.
When to call your pediatrician
Call your pediatrician or seek medical care if your baby has trouble breathing, turns blue or very pale, is unusually difficult to wake, or if something simply feels wrong. Ask about safe sleep at your baby's checkups too; your pediatrician can help with specific situations like reflux, prematurity or twins.
The bottom line
Safe sleep comes down to a few simple habits: alone, on the back, in an empty crib, on a firm, flat surface, in your room for the first months. Share these guidelines with everyone who cares for your baby, including grandparents and babysitters, so every nap and every night is as safe as it can be.