When my first child was born, I lived in a one-bedroom apartment in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood with my partner. Like many people in Chicago, our family grew faster than our living space. Safe sleep was a top priority, so we set up a crib in our dining room.
It turned out that we all wanted to be closer at night — for convenience and to reduce nighttime crying so we didn’t wake the entire apartment building. The crib was too big to fit in the small bedroom, so we placed a bassinet, and later a portable crib, next to our bed. We blended safe sleep guidance with our instincts to keep our baby within arm’s reach.
Updated safe sleep guidance
Now, experts such as the University of Chicago Comer Children’s acknowledge families’ individual and cultural norms by suggesting “room sharing” as a way to stay close while still following safe sleep guidelines.
Recognizing that breastfeeding significantly reduces the risk of sleep-related infant deaths, safe sleep guidelines recently broadened to include the option to share a room with your newborn.
“It’s important that we approach families with empathy and cultural sensitivity,” says Dr. Poj Lysouvakon, MD, a pediatrician and director of the University of Chicago Pediatric Injury Prevention Program.
Actions you can take to protect your baby
Families don’t have to choose between staying close to their baby and reducing the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS.) Creating a safe sleep environment is an important and effective way to reduce the risk, says Dr. Lysouvakon, who also serves as the pediatric director of Comer Children’s Well Baby Unit.
SIDS is most common in babies younger than 6 months old, but it can also happen any time during a baby’s first year. Some risk factors are genetic or congenital, and specific to that particular baby. Increasingly, evidence points to a brain abnormality that involves the part of the brain that controls breathing and arousal from sleep.
Other risk factors include:
- Sleeping position (stomach and side sleeping can increase risk)
- Sleeping on soft surfaces, such as pillows, stuffed animals, and soft bedding, like blankets
- Getting overheated during sleep
- Exposure to cigarette smoke, even during pregnancy
- Sleeping in a bed with other people or pets
According to the Chicago Department of Public Health, the risk of sleep-related infant death is up to 10 times higher when sharing a bed, and 67 times higher on a sofa or couch than when sleeping separately.
How to reduce the risk of SIDS
Learning the most important factors in creating a safe sleep environment can help you make choices to reduce the risk, according to Dr. Lysouvakon at UChicago Medicine Comer Children’s.
Here’s what you need to know:
- At night and when napping, babies should sleep on their backs
- They should sleep alone in an approved crib, bassinet or portable crib
- There should be no toys, stuffed animals, pillows or bedding
- The sleeping surface should be firm and flat and covered only by a fitted sheet
- Research indicates an increased risk of SIDS when there has been alcohol and nicotine use during pregnancy
- Protect your baby from second-hand smoke
- The use of any substance that impairs a parent or caregiver’s judgment is also risk factor because it impacts the ability to make safe sleep decisions
Learning more about safe sleep can help protect your baby
It’s not always easy to find space to put a crib in the room where you sleep, and not everyone can afford a crib.
When medical staff at Comer Children’s noticed an increase in sleep-related incidents that brought families to the emergency department, they expanded a program through a partnership with national nonprofit Cribs for Kids to provide portable cribs, support and information to families in Chicago through the Family Birthing Center, the emergency department and the neonatal intensive care unit.
In addition, Comer Children’s is part of a program called Family Connects and, in partnership with the Chicago Department of Public Health, connects parents with nurses who offer free home visits after a baby is born. During this visit, the nurse gives the baby a health check and provides guidance on feeding and safety.
Expertise brought to you by UChicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital. Learn more at UChicagoMedicine.org/Comer.
