Safe Sleep for Babies

If you have been curious what exactly safe sleep for babies entails, here it is. These tips apply to babies with Down Syndrome as well as typically developing babies.

If your baby is under 12 months old, you can help prevent SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), suffocation, and strangulation by following these three tips:

• Place your baby to sleep on his or her back (unless instructed otherwise by your baby's doctor).
• Remove all soft bedding from the crib.
• Put your baby to sleep in a safe crib.

Why follow these tips?

• Babies who sleep on their backs have a much lower risk of dying from SIDS and suffocation. African American babiesdie from SIDS at more than twice therate of other babies.


• A baby can suffocate from soft beddingin a crib. Be sure to remove all pillows,quilts, comforters, and sheepskins fromyour crib.


• A safe crib is the best place for yourbaby to sleep.

Make sure your crib has:

• no missing or broken hardware and slats no more than 2 3/8" apart
• no corner posts over 1/16" high
• no cutout designs in the headboard or foot board
• a firm, tight-fitting mattress
• a safety certification seal (on new cribs)

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