To consider putting my baby down on her tummy for sleep?

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Flamer disclaimer - fully aware of SIDS risk, don't want to kill my baby. Keep your flaming comments at bay please.

I have a three week old newborn, and two couples in my NCT group are happily putting their babies (aged 6 and 7 weeks) down on their tummies for sleep. And they sleep beautifully on their stomachs. My sister also did this as soon as they could lift and turn their heads.

I have been reading that paediatricians all tend to agree that babies sleep better on their stomachs, but obviously the SIDS risk overrides this.

Does anyone put their babies down on their tummies?

One of the theories about cot death is that baby falls into a lovely lovely deep sleep and forgets to breathe. If this is correct (and I think it is just a theory) then this is why “back to sleep” works - basically poor baby is much more uncomfortable (I hate sleeping on my back) and so never falls into a really lovely deep sleep - and so stays alive.

The theory also explains why having baby in your room prevents cot death - all three of you keep disturbing each other by snoring, snuffling, etc and so again baby never gets to “lovely deep sleep” and so stays alive.

I don’t know if the theory is true - but I found it much easier to cope with terrible nights with my two (and I had two really really bad sleepers) by believing that my bad nights were actually the thing that was preventing cot death. (It was less comforting when they were nearly 3 and still up 3 times a night admittedly!)

Why would you consider this if you understand the risk for SIDS?

I can't believe anyone would to this, let alone boast about it. It's just not worth it for a better night's sleep!

A woman I know lost her son last year to SIDS. As a first time mum it absolutely terrifies me.

My 7 week old slept through the night on her back. It didn’t last. I think it’s not uncommon to have a period of good sleep at that age so the stomach sleeping might be a coincidence.
Could you share with your other half and each do a few hours awake next to the sleeping baby on her stomach? Say you sleep 9–12 while your other half watches TV?
I know the sleep deprivation is hard, we’ve all done it (2 3/4 years and counting for me), but some things just aren’t worth trying because of how you’d feel if it went wrong.

Personally I wouldn’t do it- the back to sleep campaign has worked at reducing the risk. My LO has always slept better on his tummy and has slept on his front since he can roll. I still put him down on his back but he puts himself on his front. When he first started doing this I even flipped him back as I was worried by this but advice says once he can roll it is fine but not at 3 weeks. The advice is there for a reason- at 3 weeks you should be putting them down in a safe sleeping space on their back.

I wouldn't.
In the 1980s 2000 babies a year died of cot death in the UK. 2015 It was 217. The significant factor was the back to sleep campaign.
You would never forgive yourself.

I can still remember the dreadfully intrusive photograph of Anne Diamond and her husband taken at her son Sebastian’s funeral, their faces hollowed out by grief.
When she launched the ‘Back to Sleep’ campaign cases of SIDS dropped immediately. Don’t risk it. There’s an article here talking to Anne in 2016, when Sebastian would have been 25.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-37908627

fully aware of SIDS risk, don't want to kill my baby

But yet you're happy to risk it? 🙄

I don’t know anyone who openly admitted to doing something that massively increases the risk of their tiny baby dying- no.
But I doubt anyone would admit it.
Your NCT friends are very strange.

Thanks everyone, I'm not considering it, its more out of interest and from reading that more people secretly do it than we think.

My baby just loves being on her tummy, our sleep isn't too bad (for now), so we'll leave her swaddled and on her back.

Didn't think of the fact that keeping them out of a deep sleep is the reason why it works to prevent deaths.

I put dd2 to sleep on her front, but at about 6 weeks old. We had an Angelcare monitor under her mattress. So, if she stopped breathing we’d hear the high pitched squeal. It never went off, but there was that bit of peace of mind. That and dd1 who was 21mo at the time was a nightmare to go to sleep, I was dead on my knees and the rule books went out the bloody window at that point.

If you're willing to stay awake and lie next to your baby to ensure they're breathing then sure. Sort of defeats the object though.

The reason why babies are put to sleep on their backs is because they don't sleep as well. It's the deep sleep that babies go into on their belly's that increases the risk of SIDS.

The difficulty is that the risk of sids also depends on another factor in respect of brain issue but it can't be identified which babies have it and those that don't.

The safest way is to have your baby sleep on its back, notwithstanding it won't sleep and well and the associated broken sleep for you.

Babies have to learn to sleep safely, it takes a long time.

Hugs

I just wanted to point out - since it seems to be a common misconception, including on this thread - that SIDS risk doesn't start high and continuously go down with time. Waiting until 6/7 weeks doesn't make it safer than a newborn; in fact it could be riskier.

I did with DS1, but only out of desperation. He had quite severe reflux and it was the only way any of us got even a minutes sleep, he literally would not be put down on his back and would just scream for hours on end. I used one of those angelcare breathing monitors and even though it gave me piece of mind at the time, I know it wouldn't have prevented anything happening. I think I used it to help justify my decision iyswim?

DS2 is only 2 weeks old right now but I actually don't think I would do it in these normal circumstances where he is ok sleeping on his back.

I strongly suspected ds2 wanted to be a front sleeper - mainly because every time we did tummy time with him, he curled up happily on his front and dozed off! I continued putting him to sleep on his back, though, and as soon as he started rolling at 4mo he would roll straight over onto his front and go to sleep when it was bedtime. He's nearly 8mo and sleeps mainly on his front. I still put him down on his back and just let him sort himself out. Interestingly, he is a much better sleeper than ds1 who never rolled onto his front to sleep - not sure if the two things are linked.

'Yes, babies do tend to sleep well on their fronts. The research shows that some of them sleep so well, their natural arousal system that keeps them breathing stops working. Your NCT mates are playing a very dangerous game.'

This. Small babies aren't supposed to 'sleep well', if by sleeping well we mean sleeping through. Waking up lots is physiological and a sign of health (unless it's in pain/distress that goes beyond hunger).

This graph illustrates the impact of the Back to Sleep campaign on SIDS rates. Given statistics like that, I'd want to have very, very strong and well-considered reasons indeed - preferably discussed with a medical profession - before putting any baby to sleep on its tummy.

*medical professional

Lisasimpsonsbff is right - the most risky period for SIDS is between 2 and 4 months of age. The risk doesn't begin to drop substantially until 6 months.

No I wouldn't and didn't. I had a baby who wouldn't really sleep more than 20 mins on his back for the first few months and he also struggled with reflux. I know he would have slept better on his front and he has done since he could roll.
My Mum worked in Paediatrics when the back to sleep campaign came in. She said she used to see about one baby a month found dead in their cot and this just dropped massively after the campaign to maybe 1 or 2 a year. It's reduced deaths by 85% or something hasn't it?
I don't buy the 'getting sleep is better for everyone' line either. Not when you increase the baby's risk of death to get it.
Sometimes SIDS happens even when people follow all the guidelines. If that happened to me I'd have had to have known I'd done everything I could to prevent it. I also know I would never sleep again if that happened to my baby and I couldn't sleep soundly knowing they weren't in a safe position.
Babies sleep crap on their backs. That's probably part of what protects them from sleeping so deeply they don't wake up. They also sleep crap full stop. It's a few short months (I know it feels long at the time), you're a Mum now so do what's best for your baby. That's your job.

I looked after a special baby that couldn't sleep on her back. Tummy sleeping is unsafe. They showed me how to prop her onto her side using rolled towels. In the longer term, we positioned her around an upturned pudding basin. Imagine the baby is a ( with the bowl at her tummy and her back to the edge of the cot. Tuck the sheets in tightly. She's safe and snug, can't roll either way.

No I wouldn't that young. My daughter was 7 months before she slept on her front.

No, I would not do this. I’ve had 3 children and they’ve all been terrible sleepers. I did think that they would probably have slept better on their front, but it was not worth the risk, so they all stayed on their backs for sleep.

Rates of SIDS has dropped massively since people stopped putting their babies in prone position for sleeping.

I don't know if this has been said already but the risk is 7 - 8 times higher for SIDS if you lay a baby to sleep on their tummy who is used to sleeping on their back, than if the baby has always slept on their tummy.
So basically, don't change it now.

Don’t do it. Get a gro-bag sleep bag thingy and put baby in that. Feet at bottom of crib.
Your aware of SIDS so why on earth would you not use the safer sleeping position?

In the 1980s 2000 babies a year died of cot death in the UK. 2015 It was 217. The significant factor was the back to sleep campaign

This x100. Putting babies to sleep on their backs is the single thing which made a difference to the number of babies dying from cot death. Why would you even consider doing any different? The data speaks for itself. The reasons previous posters have given for why back sleeping appears to be protective is absolutely right. The risks of SIDS re highest up until 4 months when it drops considerably.