Is my sleepyhead of Sweden safe?

[Newtothismumthing]

My baby boy is 10 days old, and since we brought him home from the hospital last Tuesday we have been using the sleepyhead of Sweden for him to sleep in overnight. We are co sleeping for both our benefits, being able to wake up to any of his little noises and see him clearly means I am not staying up all night watching him breathe. The sleepyhead sits on top of our duvet and is away from pillows. It is working for us at the moment. I saw on the news about sleep positioners at the weekend and did worry, but thought it was a different brand rather than the sleepyhead. However the midwife visited this morning, and told us that the warning does include the sleepyhead and that she really has to advise us against using it... and now I'm feeling terribly guilty and worried and clueless! Any suggestions/help/advice really appreciated.

[NorthernLurker]

First of all have a hug because having a new baby is bloody scary!

Secondly there is no such thing as a risk free life. Advice is there and the advice is a separate sleeping place is the preferred but that doesn't mean nothing bad will ever happen to those babies and that only babies in bed etc will suffer problems.

Your newborn is in theory too young to roll and press up against the sides which I think is the problem. In your shoes I would perhaps keep on as I was and see how it feels. TBH you may find you don't relax now anyway. You need sleep, that is important too.

[ElizabethShaw]

Its worth bearing in mind that it was a very small number of babies who sadly died - 12 over quite a long period in the US. I imagine more babies died in a cot over the same period. And I believe the warning/recall was just in the US, not here. They have banned drop sided cots for safety reasons but I still have one.

[ineedwine99]

Hi OP, i used the sleephead delux from a couple of weeks old and it was great, if our worried stop using once baby can roll over. I bought the grand when she outgrew the delux and to be honest i don't see the point in it

[DandySeaLioness]

Not the aame thing OP but just so you know, I got the Babymoov sleep positioner beginningof August, called Boots this morning and they said to bring it in for a full refund. They’ve pulled it from sale, too.

[NerrSnerr]

There are quite a few threads about the sleepyhead at the moment so it's worth doing a search. One thing mentioned is that on the sleepyhead website it says it's for supervised use- so they advise not for when you're sleeping. The other thing is that it should be on a firm, flat surface so not ok top of a duvet. It should be straight on your mattress with duvet and pillows well away from him.

[FATEdestiny]

However the midwife visited this morning, and told us that the warning does include the sleepyhead and that she really has to advise us against using it

Firstly, the press release involving sleep positioners is advice given in USA, not UK.

UK advice on Safe Sleep has not changed in any way. The safest possible place for your baby to sleep is on a seperate, flat mattress. If you wish to cosleep theŕe are safer ways to do this:

www.lullabytrust.org.uk/safer-sleep-advice/co-sleeping/

While the sleepyhead (and any similar product) is not considered the "safest" option, they are also not specifically labelled "unsafe" either.

It is true that cosleeping (even when following safety guidelines) is also not the "safest" option either. So you appreciate there that you make an informed, educated decision based on your view of risk management. Some people are more risk averse than others.

The same is true with any of these types of products, including the Sleepyhead. It is unhelpful and just burying your head in the sand to assume the sleepyhead carries no risk. It does have a risk. The safest possible place for your baby to sleep is a firm, flat, waterproof mattress seperate to you and clear of all pillows, toys or loose bedding. Anything else isn't "safest". But that does not automatically make them "unsafe", according to the UK SIDS advice.