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New bed sharing leaflet from UNICEF and the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths

The Baby Friendly Initiative's leaflet 'Sharing a bed with your baby' has been re-issued with the support of the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths in order to provide parents with accurate and helpful information about safely sleeping with their babies.

The leaflet gives information for parents who want to share a bed with their baby, particularly as this is known to help successful breastfeeding. Nevertheless, the leaflet emphasises that parents should not have their baby in bed to sleep if they smoke, have drunk alcohol, taken drugs or medication that makes them sleepy or are extremely tired. It also includes a warning against sleeping with babies on sofas and other practices which may lead to accidents.

By issuing the leaflet together, the Baby Friendly Initiative and FSID aim to clarify their position on bed sharing and to give parents information about both the benefits of bed sharing and the times when bed sharing is not safe.