Safety Tips for Sleeping Babies

If your baby is under 12 months old, you can help prevent SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), suffocation, and strangulation by following these three tips:
Baby in Crib

Place your baby to sleep on his or her back.
Remove all soft bedding from the crib.
Put your baby to sleep in a safe crib.

Why follow these tips?

Babies who sleep on their backs have a much lower risk of dying from SIDS and suffocation. African American babies die from SIDS at more than twice the rate of other babies.
A baby can suffocate from soft bedding in a crib. Be sure to remove all pillows, quilts, comforters, and sheepskins from your crib.
A safe crib is the best place for your baby to sleep. Make sure your crib has:

no missing or broken hardware and slats no more than 2 3/8" apart

no corner posts over 1/16" high

no cutout designs in the headboard or footboard

a firm, tight-fitting mattress

a safety certification seal (on new cribs)

For more information, contact:
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
1-800-638-2772 or http://www.cpsc.gov/