To mark Safer Sleep Week, here are my ideas for teaching expectant parents about safer sleep for their newborn babies.
Greater awareness of safer sleep leads to fewer babies dying.
Sadly, around 210 babies still die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in the UK every year – about four a week (The Lullaby Trust). If every parent knew the safer sleep advice and practices, many lives could be saved. For the most up-to-date research and recommendations, I point parents to The Lullaby Trust and BASIS.
How can you build safer sleep into your classes?
Many parents are worried or unsure about clothing layers and safer sleep, so I usually start with my “Dressing your baby” activity. Each family has a baby doll or makes their own towel baby. I spread out a selection of baby clothes and accessories on a table or the floor (or, when social distancing was needed, I gave each family a washbag) containing:
- a sleepsuit/babygrow
- a long-sleeved vest
- short-sleeved vests
- scratch mittens
- a hat
- socks/booties
- a cardigan
- a blanket
Each family then gets a random weather/temperature scenario card. They discuss the scenario, choose a suitable outfit and dress their doll. Then each family presents their choices and explains how they decided. This usually leads into a discussion about layers, overheating, and how to tell if a baby is too hot or cold (and why hats aren’t worn for sleep indoors). I hand out my baby clothing layers guide, and my Dressing your baby paper doll activity works well too.
Next, we discuss sleeping arrangements and what might be practical for each family, using my size comparison chart.
After that, we look at The Lullaby Trust’s safer sleep advice and put our babies safely to bed (I use a sheet of flipchart paper to represent the cot mattress). If I have the equipment at the venue, I show this video before parents put their doll to bed:
If I don’t have the equipment, I ask parents to download the BASIS Infant Sleep Info app and watch the video above before the session. My Safer Infant Sleep paper doll activity is another great hands-on option.
Alternative safer sleep teaching ideas
I have also used The Lullaby Trust’s free “Make a room” and “Spot the risks” activities. However, I’ve stopped using them because I now focus on reinforcing safe, positive practice, so I’ve removed images showing less safe or unsafe set-ups. This approach comes from my hypnobirthing practice and my early years work with “Empowering Parents, Empowering Communities” (EPEC). I’ve also updated all my true-or-false quizzes so they only contain true statements, to reinforce the right messages.
Teaching about safer sleep online
Online, I use a digital version of the dressing your baby activity. Each family goes into their own Zoom breakout room and works on their own Google Slide (breakout room 1 on slide 1, and so on). Each slide has a different scenario as the background, and families drag the clothes onto the baby.
For the other tasks, I ask families to bring along some baby clothes if they have any, or simply describe how and where their baby would sleep most safely.
Sources and further reading
- Baby Sleep Information Source (BASIS): https://www.basisonline.org.uk/
- The Lullaby Trust: https://www.lullabytrust.org.uk/