Welcome to our 'Keep me safe... when I'm sleeping' page. Here you will find lots of useful resources on looking after babies during night time and nap time.
The first place start is by talking about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Fortunately, SIDS (also known as 'cot death') is now very rare, but there are still around 200 cases every year. The risk of babies dying from SIDS would be reduced even further if the clear messages developed from research were followed. It's important that all practitioners and professionals are delivering clear and consistent messages to support families to understand how to avoid specific risks to their baby.
There needs to be an assessment of vulnerability factors within a family and the messages need to be targeted towards the specific needs of some families taking into consideration the level of understanding, language, and cultural considerations. The key safe sleep messages need to be delivered to families consistently by all practitioners.
Asking parents where and how babies sleep should be a routine enquiry by all practitioners who have contact with families where there is a baby. Practitioners who visit the home should see where the baby sleeps both day and night.
Three Key messages from the Lullaby Trust that will make a difference:
- Put babies on their back for every sleep
- Babies should sleep in a clear flat sleep space
- Keep babies smoke free day and night
Further information has been included in the NICE (National Institute for Excellence) ‘Postnatal Care’ 2021 which includes advice for parents on recommendations on symptoms and signs of illness in babies, safer sleep and bed sharing and maintaining a smoke free environment which are all relevant to 'Keep me safe…when I am sleeping'.
For more on all these themes, click the Guidance link in the top right hand side of this page.
Useful links:
Local stop smoking services are free, friendly and can massively boost the chances of quitting for good.
These services staffed by expert advisers provide a range of proven methods to help you quit. They'll give you accurate information and advice, as well as professional support, during the first few months you stop smoking. They also make it easy and affordable to get stop smoking treatments, such as nicotine replacement therapy.
Here are some useful websites with smoking cessation resources in Herefordshire and Worcestershire:
