It is not encouraged to fall asleep while breastfeeding your baby. There are various unintentional accidents which could occur. These include your baby falling out of your arms or off the bed, their mouth or nose becoming covered by your chest/breast and possibly slipping or becoming wedged between your body and the chair or nursing cushion resulting in suffocation.
Posted by Megan Petchel, Robyn Hunt, & Julie Monson on
The safest position for your baby’s cot to be placed, is in your room. It should be right up against the wall or at least 30cm away from the wall. It should not be placed near a window with curtains or blinds, near a heater or near plug points
Sleep sacks were designed to replace blankets but still keep your baby and toddler warm while they sleep. Sleep sacks cannot be kicked off so you can rest easy knowing your little one is covered and warm throughout the night, without the risk of loose blankets which increase the risk of suffocation, strangulation, and entrapment.
Safety standards are developed to help prevent and decrease the possibility of accidents or injuries when using a product. In order to be sold in first world countries, a product needs to pass specific requirements and established rules. A product that has been independently tested and meets the specific standards will be provided with a number which can be published on the product to indicate to consumers that it has been thoroughly tested and is deemed safe for use.
In order to reduce the number of SIDS associated deaths, the American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP) put in place specific sleep recommendations which were most recently updated in 2016. These recommendations have fundamental evidence supporting safe sleeping practices and have halved the number of babies dying from SIDS.
They strongly advise that the following are put in place for every nap and overnight sleep:
• Ensuring they sleep on a flat and firm surface
• Placing them to sleep on their back
• Keep their cot empty with no blankets, pillows or soft toys etc
• Sharing a room (but not a bed)
