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Safe Sleep for your Baby

A few simple steps to keep your baby safe

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), also known as cot death, is rare in Ireland, and rarer still when parents follow a few simple safe-sleep practices. This page explains the principles every parent needs to know, and what to do at every sleep, day or night, naps or nighttime, until your baby is at least one year old.

The ABC of Safe Sleep

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A: Alone Your baby should sleep alone in their own clear cot, without other people, pillows, duvets, bumpers, soft toys, or pets.

B: Back Your baby should sleep on their back, for every sleep, day and night, until they are at least 1 year old.

C: Cot Your baby should sleep in a clean, firm, flat cot, in the same room as you for the first 6 months.

What this means in practice

Alone

  • The cot should be empty: a firm mattress, a tightly fitted sheet, and a baby sleeping bag or a thin blanket tucked in below the shoulders.
  • No bumpers, pillows, soft toys, loose bedding, hats or sheepskins in the cot.
  • Do not share a bed, sofa or armchair with your baby for sleep. The risk of SIDS is significantly higher.
  • If you bring baby into your bed to feed, put them back into their own cot before you go to sleep.

Back

  • Always place your baby on their back to sleep, even for short naps.
  • Once your baby can roll independently (usually from around 5 to 6 months), you don’t need to keep turning them; just always start them on their back.
  • Side-sleeping is not recommended.

Cot

  • The cot should be in the same room as the parent for the first 6 months.
  • A firm, flat, waterproof mattress in good condition.
  • Don’t use second-hand mattresses where the history is unknown.
  • Keep the room at 16 to 20°C. Use a room thermometer.
  • Place your baby with their feet to the foot of the cot, so they can’t wriggle under the blanket.

What increases the risk

Avoid

  • Smoking during pregnancy, or in the home after the baby is born. Anyone in the household.
  • Co-sleeping (bed-sharing) with a baby, especially in the first 3 months, after alcohol or sedating medication, or if either parent is a smoker.
  • Sleeping on a sofa or armchair with your baby.
  • Overheating. A hot room, too many layers, or a hat indoors.
  • Putting your baby to sleep on their tummy or side, except under specific medical advice.

Why it matters

  • Smoke exposure is one of the strongest risk factors for SIDS.
  • Co-sleeping risk is significantly higher when combined with smoking, alcohol, sedation, or sleeping on soft surfaces.
  • Adult sleep surfaces don’t have the same firm support; babies can become wedged or covered.
  • Babies regulate temperature less well than adults; overheating is a known risk factor.
  • The back-sleeping advice has reduced SIDS deaths by around 70% worldwide.

Frequently asked questions

What if my baby will only settle if I hold them?

This is normal, especially in the early weeks. You can hold and cuddle your baby for as long as you like while awake. For sleep, put them down in their cot, on their back. Many parents put their baby in the cot drowsy but not yet asleep, and find it works well.

Yes. A correctly fitting baby sleeping bag is a good alternative to blankets. Make sure the neck is snug enough that baby can’t slip down inside, and check the tog rating for the room temperature.

Research suggests using a dummy at sleep times may reduce SIDS risk, though the evidence is not conclusive. If you choose to use one, offer it consistently at each sleep; if it falls out, you don’t need to put it back. If breastfeeding, wait until breastfeeding is established (around 3 to 4 weeks).

Swaddling is fine in the early weeks if done correctly, with the hips loose and the swaddle not over the face. Stop swaddling before your baby shows signs of rolling.

Car seats are for travelling. They are not safe for prolonged sleep, particularly under 4 months, because of the risk of positional asphyxia. Move baby to a flat cot for sleep at home.

After 6 months. Until then, keep the cot in the same room as the parent.