Setting up a safe sleep space

A few simple choices lower sleep risks for your baby

The American Academy of Pediatrics' updated recommendations describe a small set of choices, backed by research on sleep-related infant deaths, that meaningfully lower risk. None of them require special equipment — they are about how and where your baby sleeps.

The core guidance: always place your baby on their back to sleep, for every sleep, on a firm, flat surface, with nothing else in the sleep space — no pillows, loose blankets, bumpers, or soft toys. The AAP also recommends room-sharing (baby's own separate sleep surface in your room, not in your bed) for at least the first 6 months, ideally the first year, because it is linked to a lower risk of sleep-related death.