Is it safe for your baby to sleep on his stomach?

Your baby is about to be born. However, you still do not know how to take care of your baby, especially when your baby sleeps. Confused about whether to let the baby lie on his stomach or on his back?

If you still do not understand the sleeping positions of children, aFamilyToday Health will share the following information with you.

Is it safe to put your baby on his stomach when he sleeps?

Tummy lying on the stomach is the most common cause of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). When the baby sleeps for a long time, the mother should let the baby lie on his back. Although the mother regularly observes, death on her stomach can still occur.

Your baby's sleeping position is an important thing caregivers need to know. Therefore, you should make sure that everyone in the family does not put your baby on his stomach when allowing him to sleep.

A few things you should know:

Lying on your back will reduce the risk of sudden death.

Putting your baby on his tummy to sleep often increases the risk of dying from SIDS.

If you put your baby on his back and then put it on his or her stomach again, the risk of sudden death will greatly increase.

The safest sleeping position for your baby is lying on his back.

Even naps, mothers should also put the baby to sleep on his back, not on his stomach.

When can babies sleep on their tummy?

The risk of sudden infant death decreases before the baby turns one year old. This risk peaks between 1 month and 4 months of age.

When the baby is old enough, the baby will be able to turn from his back to his stomach. At this stage, mothers do not need to worry too much about their tummy sleeping. The mother can put the baby back in the supine position or let the baby lie down as he likes.

Potential risks of lying on your stomach

Parents should put their baby on his back to sleep to avoid the risk of sudden death. About 30% of babies are not put to sleep on their backs because parents worry that if the baby lies on their back, they will easily choke when sleeping.

However, reality shows that this is completely not true. When the baby is lying on his back, his nose and mouth do not encounter obstacles that obstruct the breathing process, while lying on his tummy is very easy to cause the baby to suffocate. Therefore, you should put your baby on his back to sleep to avoid choking.

When should the baby lie on his stomach?

Although tummy position is not safe for the baby, the baby still needs to lie on his tummy. However, when placing your baby on his tummy, you should pay attention to the following:

Put your baby on his tummy when he is awake and must always be attentive to observing him.

You should clean your baby's bed before placing your baby on his stomach.

Do not force it if your baby is not familiar. Initially, put your baby on his or her stomach for 3–5 minutes at a time, then slowly increase it.

Sleep is very important for the development of babies and children, especially the first years of life. Therefore, mothers need to be careful when their baby sleeps to ensure the safety of the baby.