You may sleep curled on your side, splayed on your back, or face down with one leg dangling off the side of the bed. And if you are comfy and rested, you are golden! Unfortunately, it’s not that simple with babies. For example, if your mini copy-cats your favorite sleep position, they may be putting themselves at an elevated risk for sudden unexplained infant death (SUID). Here, all the info you need on newborn baby sleep positions—and how they stack up in terms of safety.

Safest Sleeping Position for Newborn Babies: On the Back

Placing your newborn to sleep on their back is considered the absolute most effective thing you can do to lower your baby’s risk of SUID, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). And you should continue doing just that at bedtime and naptime for the entirety of your baby’s first year. After all, the rate of sudden infant deaths plummeted in America by more than 50% once a national campaign began that heavily encouraged safe back-sleeping for babies.

 

You see, when your baby is placed in this gold-standard sleep position, they not only can breathe easier, but they’re far less likely to aspirate or choke on spit-up than when in other sleep positions. (When babies snooze on their back, their trachea lies on top of their esophagus, making it virtually impossible for spit-up or vomit from the esophagus to pool in the trachea, causing harm.) And as a bonus, research shows that babies who snooze on their backs are less prone to fevers, stuffy noses, and ear infections, too.

To ensure your baby remains safely on their back during all sleeps, consider our award-winning SNOO Smart Sleeper. It’s the only bassinet featuring a secure swaddling system, which prevents infants from rolling to unsafe positions while sleeping. SNOO is so safe, in fact, that it’s been accepted into the Food and Drug Administration Breakthrough Device Program, which was created to get life-saving medical devices to consumers as quickly as possible.