Key takeaways: Keep your baby’s crib, bassinet, or play yard in your room, close to your bed, ideally for at least 6 months. Use a firm, flat surface with only a fitted sheet. Avoid in-bed sleepers and products that don’t meet federal safety standards.
Room-sharing means your baby sleeps in your room on their own separate sleep surface. It’s associated with a lower risk of SIDS and makes night feeds easier. Here’s how to set it up safely.
Why Room-Share?
The AAP recommends that infants sleep in the parents’ room, close to the parents’ bed but on a separate surface designed for infants, ideally for at least the first 6 months. Studies have found room-sharing is associated with a lower risk of SIDS, possibly because parents can respond more easily and babies are monitored naturally.
Choosing a Sleep Space
Crib: must meet current federal safety standards (16 CFR 1219/1220). Avoid drop-side cribs and older cribs that may not meet standards. Slats should be no more than 2⅜ inches apart.
Bassinet or cradle: must meet the federal bassinet standard. Follow weight and age limits, and stop using it when your baby can roll over or push up on hands and knees, or reaches the manufacturer’s limit.
Play yard (portable crib): must meet federal standards. Use only the mattress made for it; don’t add extra padding.
Bedside sleepers: attach to the side of the adult bed. They must meet federal standards and be securely attached, with no gaps.
From the author
From First Breath to First Birthday is my month-by-month guide to your baby’s first year, written as a NICU and postpartum nurse. My book covers sleep month by month, alongside feeding, growth and the warning signs that mean it’s time to call the doctor.
Products to Avoid
- In-bed sleepers, nests, and loungers placed in an adult bed.
- Inclined sleepers and rockers.
- Hammocks and products not designed for infant sleep.
- Weighted sleep products.
- Aftermarket mattresses or toppers that don’t fit snugly.
Setting Up the Space
- Firm, flat mattress that fits snugly, with no gaps larger than two fingers between the mattress and frame.
- Fitted sheet only. No pillows, blankets, bumpers, stuffed animals, or positioners.
- Place it near your bed but not touching anything that could fall in.
- Away from cords, blinds, curtains, lamps, and monitors. Keep cords at least 3 feet away.
- Away from heaters and direct sunlight.
- Clear of pets that could jump in.
What About Bed-Sharing?
The AAP doesn’t recommend bed-sharing. If you choose to bed-share, or if you might fall asleep while feeding, the highest-risk situations are:
- Babies under 4 months or born preterm or small.
- Couches, armchairs, or waterbeds.
- Soft bedding, pillows, or gaps.
- Smoking, alcohol, sedating medications, or drugs.
- Sharing a bed with other children or pets.
If you feed your baby in your bed, remove pillows and blankets from around your baby and return your baby to their own space when you’re done.
Monitors
Audio and video monitors can be helpful, especially once your baby is in their own room. Heart and oxygen monitors marketed to parents haven’t been shown to prevent SIDS and shouldn’t replace safe sleep practices.
When to Move to Their Own Room
After 6 months, it’s a family decision. Wherever your baby sleeps, keep following the same safe sleep rules.
The Bottom Line
Room-share on a separate, safety-approved surface, near your bed, with nothing in it but a fitted sheet. This setup makes night feeds easier and lowers SIDS risk.
Want more support for your baby’s first year? My book, From First Breath to First Birthday, is available on Amazon.
Related Articles
- Products That Aren’t Safe for Sleep: Loungers, Inclined Sleepers, and Weighted Sacks
- Moving Your Baby to Their Own Room
Sources
- Moon RY, Carlin RF, Hand I; Task Force on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome; Committee on Fetus and Newborn. Sleep-related infant deaths: updated 2022 recommendations for reducing infant deaths in the sleep environment. Pediatrics. 2022;150(1):e2022057990.
- Moon RY, Carlin RF, Hand I; Task Force on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome; Committee on Fetus and Newborn. Evidence base for 2022 updated recommendations for a safe infant sleeping environment to reduce the risk of sleep-related infant deaths. Pediatrics. 2022;150(1):e2022057991.
- US Consumer Product Safety Commission. Full-size and non-full-size cribs; bassinets and cradles; play yards; bedside sleepers: safety standards. https://www.cpsc.gov
- US Consumer Product Safety Commission. Safe Sleep for Babies Act. https://www.cpsc.gov
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Safe to Sleep campaign. https://safetosleep.nichd.nih.gov
This article is for general education and is not a substitute for individualized medical advice. Always talk with your baby’s health care provider or your own provider about your specific situation. If you think your baby or you may have a medical emergency, call 911.
