My baby can’t sleep on a plain, hard mattress, he’s not comfortable.
Babies do not need soft bedding to be comfortable. Soft bedding, pillows and soft toys in bed with your baby increase the risk of sleep related death. Your baby should sleep in a crib or bassinet with a firm mattress. No pillows, soft toys, or heavy blankets should be present. If a blanket is needed it should be light, cover below the baby’s chest and be tucked in around the mattress.
I can’t bond with my baby if I don’t sleep with her.
Parents and children have a natural bond that develops through being cared for and loved by their parents, not through sleeping in the same bed. Babies should sleep near, not in, their parents’ bed.
My baby can’t sleep on his back, he might choke.
Babies, like all people, have reflexes that protect their airways. There has been no increase in choking deaths since most babies have been placed on their backs for sleep, but the number of sleep associated deaths has decreased almost 40 percent.
My baby’s head will be misshapen if she sleeps on her back.
It is uncommon for babies to have significant change in the shape of their heads because of back sleeping. Placing your baby on her stomach for tummy time helps eliminate this concern. Your baby should be placed on her tummy only when awake and being watched.
It’s alright to put my baby on his side to sleep.
Babies are more likely to roll into a face down position when placed on their sides to sleep, dramatically increasing the risk of sleep related death.
It is okay to sleep with my baby if I breastfeed her and I don’t smoke or use drugs or alcohol.
Smoking and the use of drugs and alcohol increase the risk of sleep related deaths of babies. Co-sleeping increases the risk of sleep related deaths even in families in which no one smokes or uses drugs or alcohol. Every baby should sleep in her own crib or other device made for babies to sleep in.
My baby will only sleep if he is sleeping with me.
Babies learn sleep patterns through routine. Your baby should be placed in his crib to sleep every time he sleeps both at night and nap time.
My baby needs to sleep with me to be safe.
The safest sleep environment for every baby is in her crib or other device made for babies to sleep in. Sleeping in an adult bed increases the chance of sleep related death.