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Baby Sleep: American Academy of Pediatrics Recommends Which Position Is Best

By  //  September 26, 2015

CREATE A SAFE SLEEP ENVIRONMENT

Pediatricians recommend that healthy infants sleep on their backs for the first year of their life.
Pediatricians recommend that healthy infants sleep on their backs for the first year of their life.

MEDICAL NEWS TODAY — Providing your baby with a safe sleeping environment is vital to your baby’s health but what exactly does that mean?

What position is best for my baby? What type of bed is best for my baby? Should bumpers be placed in the crib? The list of questions goes on and on.

It is currently recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) that healthy infants sleep on their backs for the first year of life for safety. Infants who sleep on their backs are at a lower risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), a condition that affects approximately 4,000 infants annually in the United States.

The risk of SIDS is noted to be the highest within the first 6 months of life, so placing your infant on their back during this time is especially recommended.

Pediatricians recommend that healthy infants sleep on their backs for the first year of their life. Since these recommendations were made in 1992, there has been a significant decrease in SIDS-related deaths. However, infant deaths caused by suffocation, entrapment and asphyxia have been on an upward trend.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the story on MedicalNewsToday.com and find out more about what position is best for a baby to sleep in, along with how to provide a baby a safe sleep environment and decrease the risk of sudden death syndrome.