Safety

Work through this checklist and make changes to your baby's environment to help keep them safe.

Home

• Always keep a hand on your baby while bathing them
• Make sure your baby’s bassinette or cot is stable and has no ties or ribbons on the inside
• Remove any ties or ribbons from the neck of baby’s clothes
• Remove baby’s bib before putting them to bed
• Always stay with your baby when they are on high surfaces
• Put baby somewhere safe while you enjoy a hot drink
• Make sure hot tap water is no hotter than 50°C
• Install and maintain working smoke alarms

Out & about

• Supervise cats and dogs closely when they are around baby
• Use a car seat that is suitable for infants on every vehicle ride
• Do not leave baby to sleep in their car seat once the car trip is over

Bed safety

To help keep your baby safe in bed lie them on their back with their face kept clear. The risk of SUDI (SIDS or cot death) is reduced if your baby always sleeps on their back. Make up the cot so that your baby sleeps at the foot of the cot. This will stop them slipping under the covers.

Avoid loose covers that do not tuck in as they may slip over your baby’s face. To keep their face clear of the covers, tuck your baby in securely. Avoid using bumper pads because of the risk of strangulation and suffocation. Don't use pillows and toys in the bed as they might suffocate your baby. Make sure there are no loose ribbons, ties or threads on baby’s clothes.

Your baby’s bed is safer when the mattress:

• is clean, firm, flat and comfortable
• fits the cot snuggly so your baby cannot get stuck down the side - gaps at the sides and ends should be less than 25mm
• is put in the sunshine or taken out of the bed regularly to help keep it from getting damp

Baby's cot

Make sure that:

• gaps between cot bars are between 50 and 85mm to prevent baby trapping arms, legs or head
• there are no loose or missing pieces on the cot
• the four corner posts come up no more than 5 mm from the top of the cot side (about the thickness of a household power cord) - babies can be strangled if their clothes get caught on corner posts that are too high
• the top of the cot side is more than 500 mm above the top of the mattress
• if you are using an old cot, check the paint is not lead-based paint. Information on lead-based paints is available from your Plunket nurse or other well child health provider, public health service/units and in your Well Child/Tamariki Ora health book.

Sleeping somewhere else

If you are putting baby to bed somewhere else other than their cot:

• Always check for dangers wherever baby sleeps
• Avoid waterbeds because your baby may be suffocated by rolling onto their stomach, with their face into the mattress
• Don't let your baby share a bed with anyone who smokes, takes sleeping pills or is under the influence of alcohol or social drugs
• Babies should not bed share if their mother smoked during pregnancy
• Babies can roll face down on soft surfaces and can get wedged against things on couches, chairs or adult beds and suffocate
• Do not leave them to sleep in their car seat when your trip is over as some babies can experience breathing difficulties if their head falls forward

You may have read or been given advice about wrapping mattresses in plastic to prevent SUDI (SIDS or cot death). The Plunket Society and the Cot Death Association do not endorse the use of plastic coverings for mattresses. Always remove the original plastic wrapping which covered the mattress when you bought it because thin or loose plastic coverings could suffocate your baby. Talk to your Plunket nurse for more information about wrapping mattresses in plastic.

Warm in bed

Babies sleep better when they are warm in bed — not too hot or too cold. If they feel hot take off some of the covers. To quickly check if your baby is warm enough slip two fingers down the back of the neck. If baby’s back is warm then they are, even if their hands and feet feel cool.

A blanket under the bottom sheet and blankets on top help keep your baby warm. Use a hot water bottle to warm their bed but take it out before they go to bed. Wheat bags are not safe as they can overheat and burn baby.

Sheepskins should be avoided if there is a history of asthma or allergy in the family, as they can collect house dust mites. If you want to use a sheepskin, use a short-hair type, and cover it with a sheet.

Temperature

Making your baby’s bedroom safe and the right temperature:

• Place the cot away from windows, curtains, blind cords, power points and heaters. Sleeping your baby away from windows helps keep their temperature stable
• The room needs to be well aired with the door open, especially if you use a heater. Overheated rooms are not safe for babies. Using an electric heater with a thermostat is best
• Avoid using fan heaters in your baby’s room when your baby is in bed as they can overheat the room
• Avoid gas heaters in the bedroom as they can give off dangerous fumes
• Keep your baby’s room well ventilated and at a temperature that is comfortable for a lightly clothed adult