 Put your baby on her back, in her own cot |
More than a decade after a major campaign to reduce the number of cot deaths in Britain, many new parents are still confused about the best way to put babies to sleep, according to campaigners.
Seven babies still die unexpectedly each week in Britain, according to the cot death charity FSID.
The number of deaths has reduced greatly since a big campaign to get parents to put babies to sleep on their backs, rather than their fronts - but, according to the group, there are other easy safety measures which parents can take.
They're now saying that for the first six months of life, babies should sleep in a cot in their parents' room. And parents should give up smoking altogether. What can be done to prevent cot death? Breakfast talks live to a paediatrician and a parenting campaigner, just after 7.20amCot death do's and don'ts: Do:
Put your baby to sleep on her back, even if she's more restless this way: it's much safer than sleeping on her front.
Make sure your baby's head is not covered by blankets
Keep your baby's cot in your bedroom for the first six months.
Get medical help quickly if your baby seems unwell
Give up smoking and get your partner to do the same
Don't:
Bring the baby to sleep in your bed, especially if you're a smoker, have been drinking or taking medication which makes you drowsy - or if you're very tired. Fall asleep on a sofa or armchair with the baby - however exhausted you are. Let the baby overheat: check to see if she's sweating and take off a blanket if necessary.
Smoke - at all if possible. Research suggests that babies are still affected by cigarette smoke, even if you make an effort not to smoke in the same room as them
Staying with the theme of babies this morning, we also discussed the pressure to breastfeed and asked whether new mothers feel the guilt piling on them.
We heard from our regular GP Dr Rosemary Leonard and breastfeeding author Clare Byam Cook.
A recording of our interview will be available shortly
Clare Byam Cook's book is called:
What to Expect When You're Breastfeeding and What If You Can't? How to Feed and Settle Your Baby and Have a Life of Your Own: (April 5, 2001) Publisher: Vermilion ISBN: 0091856744 rrp: �7.99
|  | BBC NEWS: VIDEO AND AUDIO Cot death
We talked to paediatrician Dr Richard Wilson and parenting expert Mary Crowley
New advice on cot death
The BBC's Alison Holt reports for Breakfast
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