HealthPartners - Your guide to pregnancy

ROOMING-IN Rooming-in (keeping parents and their baby together in the same room) is good for your baby’s health and development. Unless there is a medical issue that doesn’t support it, rooming-in at the hospital lets the staff care for you and your baby at the same time. Benefits of rooming-in include: • Your baby learns to recognize and begin bonding with you • You can breastfeed quickly as you learn your baby’s feeding cues • Your baby cries less and you can soothe them more quickly • You make more breast milk because you’re breastfeeding more often • You get more rest and it’s easier to monitor your baby in the same room Rooming-in is so valuable that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) encourages parents to do it at home. Rooming-in until your baby is at least 6 months old (ideally for 1 year) is part of the AAP’s strategy for preventing SIDS.

SAFE SLEEP The CDC estimates that nearly 3,500 infants die suddenly and unexpectedly each year in the United States. These deaths are called sudden unexpected infant deaths (SUIDs). About half of all SUID deaths are due to SIDS — sudden deaths that can’t be explained. SIDS is the leading cause of SUID for infants under 1 year old, especially from birth to 4 months. One of the best ways to reduce the risk of SIDS is to place healthy babies on their backs when putting them down to sleep. Since the AAP recommended in 1992 that all babies sleep on their backs, deaths from SIDS have declined dramatically. Sleep-related deaths from other causes, including suffocation, entrapment, and asphyxia, have unfortunately gone up. The safest place for your baby to sleep is on a baby bed placed close to your bed. For example, a safety-approved crib with a firm mattress covered by a fitted sheet. CHILD SAFETY SEATS Your baby needs a car safety seat to go home from the hospital. Every state requires that infants and children ride buckled up. Using a car safety seat correctly can help prevent injuries to your infant. Read your car safety seat manual and your vehicle user guide ahead of time. Practice installing the seat before your baby goes home. The “best” car safety seat is the one that fits your baby and can be set up the right way for your car. It does not matter if it is the most expensive seat — if it is not installed properly, it may not protect your baby.

NEED TO KNOW

Basic guidelines for safe sleep: • Make sure nothing covers the baby’s head • Dress your baby in sleep clothing like a one-piece sleeper, and do not use a blanket • Always place your baby on their back to sleep, for naps, and at night • Keep pillows, sheepskins, crib bumpers, and toys out of your baby’s bed • Put your baby’s sleep area next to where you sleep, but do not share the same bed with your baby • Do not smoke or let others smoke near the baby

• Use a firm sleep surface, such as a mattress in a safety-approved crib, covered by a fitted sheet

48 Your Guide to A Healthy Pregnancy