😴 Sleep · 0–12 months
😴 Safer sleep for baby: reducing SIDS risk
Safer sleep practices reduce the risk of SIDS and other sleep-related deaths, although they cannot remove every risk. Agree on the same setup with everyone who cares for baby, including relatives or friends helping after the birth or during visits.
What you'll need
- A cot or bassinet designed for infant sleep and compliant with applicable product safety standards.
- A firm, flat, snug-fitting mattress with a fitted sheet.
- Light sleep clothing, or a correctly fitted non-weighted sleep sack suitable for the room's warmth.
For every nap and night
1. Start on the back
Place baby on their back for every sleep. Once baby can roll both ways independently, you do not need to keep turning them back, but continue to start each sleep on the back.
2. Use a separate, clear sleep space
Keep the mattress flat and bare apart from its fitted sheet. No pillows, blankets, duvets, bumpers, toys, nests or positioners. Do not use inclined seats or a hammock as baby's routine sleep space.
3. Share the room, not the bed
Keep baby's own cot in your room for at least the first 6 months. An adult bed, sofa or armchair is not a safe alternative. Return baby to the cot after feeding or cuddling before you fall asleep.
4. Avoid overheating
Choose clothing for the actual room temperature, which varies across Kenya and with weather, heating or air-conditioning. Keep the head uncovered indoors, with no hats. Check the chest or back for sweating or unusual heat rather than judging by cool hands.
5. Keep the environment smoke-free
Keep smoke and vape aerosol away from baby and out of the home and car. Arrange handovers so an exhausted caregiver can rest without holding a sleeping baby.
6. Separate play from sleep
Offer tummy time only while baby is awake and directly supervised. If baby falls asleep in a carrier, swing or car seat after travel, move them to a firm, flat sleep space as soon as practical.
Classic mistakes
- ❌ Side sleeping for reflux Back sleeping on a flat surface remains the usual recommendation for babies with reflux. Discuss any medical exception with the treating clinician.
- ❌ Adding comfort items or weighted products Soft objects can obstruct breathing. Weighted blankets, swaddles and sleep sacks are not appropriate infant sleep equipment.
A local detail, or your own experience with this guide? Write to the team
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Read next
- Employment Act
- Birth registration
- Civil Registration Services
- SHA and SHIF
- Mother Child Health Handbook
- Emergency services
- ART bill status
- Parentage judgment
When in doubt, contact your doctor or midwife. For a life-threatening emergency, call 999 or 112.