Safe sleep space

The short definition

A safe sleep space is a flat, firm surface made for a baby to sleep on. It has nothing soft in it, and for the first 6 months it sits in the same room as a parent.

What it actually means

Three things have to be true at once.

• Baby goes on their back, for every sleep, day and night, with their head and face uncovered.
• The surface is firm and flat. A cot, a bassinet or a portable cot that meets the Australian standard all count.
• Nothing soft is in it. No pillows, no doonas, no loose blankets, no cot bumpers, no lambswool, no soft toys.

Baby sleeps in their own safe sleep space, in the same room as a parent or carer, for at least the first 6 months.

Where Dadda will hear it

From the midwife, from the child health nurse, and on every safe sleep leaflet in the hospital. It is the phrase that sits behind half the things on the shopping list.

Not to be confused with

Anywhere bub happens to fall asleep. A rocker, a bouncer, a pram and a car seat are not safe sleep spaces. They hold bub on an angle, and that is the problem with all four.

Also look at

• The full item: cot and mattress
• The full item: portable cot