FSID advice

FSID (The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths) is a leading baby charity working to prevent sudden infant deaths and promote baby health. More than 20,000 lives have been spared as a result of their research and health awareness projects. But, cot death is still the leading cause of death in babies over one month old and more research is needed to save further lives. FSID has provided some advice for parents to help reduce the risk of cot death:

• Cut smoking in pregnancy – fathers too! And don’t let anyone smoke in the same room as your baby.
• Place your baby on the back to sleep (and not on the front or side).
• Do not let your baby get too hot, and keep your baby’s head uncovered.
• place your baby with their feet to the foot of the cot, to prevent them wriggling down under the covers. 
• Never sleep with a baby on a sofa or armchair.
• The safest place for your baby to sleep is in a crib or cot in a room with you for the first six months. 
• It’s especially dangerous for your baby to sleep in your bed if you (or your partner):
  - are a smoker, even if you never smoke in bed or at home
  - have been drinking alcohol
  - take medication or drugs that make you drowsy
  - feel very tired
  or if your baby:
  - was born before 37 weeks
  - weighed less than 2.5kg or 5½ lbs at birth
  - is less than three months old.
• Don’t forget, accidents can happen: you might roll over in your sleep and suffocate your baby; or your baby could get caught between the wall and the bed, or could roll out of an adult bed and be injured.
• Settling your baby to sleep (day and night) with a dummy can reduce the risk of cot death, even if the dummy falls out while your baby is asleep.
• Breastfeed your baby. Establish breastfeeding before starting to use a dummy.

For more information about safe sleeping for your baby visit the FSID website at http://www.fsid.org.uk/