Question: Grandma tends to put our newborn to sleep on his stomach. But won’t it increase the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)?

Answer: Both the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in the UK and the American Academy of Pediatrics have stated that placing babies on their stomachs to sleep does increase the risk of SIDS. Because your newborn cannot yet roll over unaided, he is at the risk of overheating when on his stomach. This overheating is associated with SIDS. Both the UK and the US have adopted the “Back to Sleep” campaign to highlight this risk to the public, and encourage the adoption of safe sleeping practices – meaning, placing your baby on his back to sleep, at least until he can roll over on his own.