Key Points
- Room-sharing means that your baby sleeps on a safe, separate sleep surface in the same room as you.
- Room-sharing reduces the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SUDI), including SIDS and sleepwalking.
- This makes it easier for your baby to settle and nurse at night.
About room-sharing with your baby
Room-sharing means that your baby sleeps on his or her own safe sleep surface in the same room as you. A separate safe sleep surface can be a crib, a portable bed, a crib, a bed, or a baby-pod. Co-sleeping with your baby doesn’t mean co-sleeping. Co-sleeping is when your baby sleeps in the same bed as you.
Benefits of sharing a room with your baby
Studies show that co-sleeping with your baby and sleeping in a separate bed during the first year of life, or at least six months after birth, can reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SUDI), including Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and sleep apnea.
This may be because the reflexes that protect your baby’s airway are better when your baby is close to you while you sleep. These reflexes include swallowing, gasping, or gasping if your baby is having trouble breathing or has an obstructed airway. Being with your baby is also beneficial. This will make it easier for your baby to respond quickly when he wakes up and feeds at night. It can also help with understanding your baby’s symptoms and needs.
If you don’t share a room: How to stay safe
Sometimes your baby may want to sleep in a separate room from you. This can happen, for example, when your baby is moved from a bed to a bed and your bedroom is too small. If your baby sleeps in a separate room from you, make sure the sleep environment is safe, place your baby on his or her back, and check your baby regularly to make sure he or she is still lying on his or her back with his or her head and face flat. Lie down. For example, you can check your baby when he or she is awake, when he or she is sleeping, and when you wake up in the middle of the night.
Your baby should be able to easily roll from tummy to back (4-6 months old), and can move around and protect his or her airway if he or she is in a safe sleep environment. But you should still put your baby to sleep in a cot.
