Being a mother, you probably realized from your experience that a happy baby is a well-slept baby. The position in which the baby sleeps is also as important as the requirement of sleep for a new born baby.
Taking care of the sleeping position, especially during the initial months after the birth of your baby, is of the utmost important.
- What Is It Important That Your Baby Sleeps In The Right Position?
- Is It Safe For My Baby To Sleep On One Side?
- Till What Age Does The Risk Of SIDS Is There For Babies?
- What If My Baby Is Not Comfortable Sleeping On His Back?
- What If My Baby Always Turns To Sleep On A Side?
- What Are Flat Spots?
- Does My Baby Develop Flat Spots On The Back Of The Head?
- How Can I Prevent Flat Spots On My Baby’s Head?
- What If My Baby Rolls Into His Stomach Even If I Made Him Sleep On His Back?
What Is It Important That Your Baby Sleeps In The Right Position?
It is important to use a safe sleeping pattern for your baby because of the risk of sudden unexpected death in infancy. It occurs mainly as the result of fatal sleeping accidents. SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) is the sudden death of healthy babies under one year of age without any reason. This death, mainly occurs usually when they are sleeping.
All these factors indicate the significance of sleeping positions.
Is It Safe For My Baby To Sleep On One Side?
The answer is ‘NO’. Babies who sleep on their side found to have an increased risk of SIDS. The risk of SIDS for a baby who sleeps on one side is more than double than a baby who sleeps on his back. This is because even a newborn can easily roll onto his stomach when he sleeps on his side which is very dangerous.
Till What Age Does The Risk Of SIDS Is There For Babies?
The majority of SIDS occur before the baby reaches 6 months of age. The peak time is found to be when the baby is between one to four months old. Once they start rolling over around six months the rate of SIDS will begin to diminish.
What If My Baby Is Not Comfortable Sleeping On His Back?
Make him get used to it by encouraging him to sleep on back. Safety is more important that convenience of the baby. Don’t let him know the convenience of sleeping in the sides. For this make him sleep on his back as early as possible. Even if he is not comfortable he will get used to this safe position gradually.
What If My Baby Always Turns To Sleep On A Side?
- One thing that you can do to prevent your baby from rolling to his tummy while sleeping on a side is to make sure the underneath arm is stretched forward
- Never let your baby’s arms stay closer to his side. This will let him roll to his tummy easier
- Never use a back wedge which encourages the rolling of your child from side to stomach. If needed, use front wedge which allows the baby only to move to his back even if he is sleeping on one side
What Are Flat Spots?
A baby’s head is very soft at the time of birth. This is to permit the growth of the brain that happens during the first year of life, apart from facilitating the delivery. When a baby sleeps in the same position during most of the times, the soft and movable skull plates leave a flat spot on that area of the head of the baby. It is an appearance problem rather than a medical problem as it will not affect the development of the brain. Read more on the topic here.
Does My Baby Develop Flat Spots On The Back Of The Head?
Yes, your baby can develop flat spot at the back of the head if you put him to sleep always on his back (which is highly recommended). The hair is also found to grow less on these parts.
How Can I Prevent Flat Spots On My Baby’s Head?
Flat spots don’t need any treatment and will vanish as the baby grows up as they reposition themselves. The following steps will help you to prevent the flat spot or normalize the shape of the skull if already your child developed a flat spot.
- Change the position of the head carefully when your infant sleeps
- Increase tummy time
- Try to alternate the head position every night once they start to sleep for a long time at a stretch.
- Alternate cribs position
- Keep something that attracts your baby’s attention on alternate sides when he is awake. This will make him turn his head both ways when lying on his back
What If My Baby Rolls Into His Stomach Even If I Made Him Sleep On His Back?
Once your baby passed six months of age, he will start rolling over himself, which is another developmental milestone of your baby. So during this phase, there are chances that your baby rolling over to his stomach even if you put him to sleep in his back position. No need to disturb his sleep by turning him to back position if he himself rolls onto his stomach during his sleep. Instead, watch him closely and never let him alone while he sleeps.
Click here to read more from our section on Baby Sleep And Rest.
