should you let babies sleep on their front once they roll over onto their tummies, or try and turn them back??

[lu9months]

silly question probably, but my 6 month old rolls onto her tummy in her cot, despite the sleeping bag. she then finds it hard to roll back. she usually settles like this. I am worried that she would be safer on her back, but dont like to disturb her once she is comfy . is it ok to leave her? thanks

Not a silly question!

One of my friends was so worried about it that she spoke to an HV who advised her to keep vigil by her DS's cot and turn him onto his back every time he rolled onto his front. After two nights of little sleep and increasing hysteria she spoke to another, more sensible HV, who said that if they are capable of rolling onto their fronts they are usually capable of rolling onto their backs again if they want to, and if they can't, they'll soon let you know about it. My friend calmed down and went back to sleeping normally without worrying.

I used to leave mine on their fronts once they were able to roll over - my reasoning being that if they did it in the middle of the night when I was sleeping I wouldn't be able to do anything about it anyway.

And once they've started rolling you find that they travel the entire length and breadth of the cot in their sleep. I always used to wonder how far they would go if they had a cot the size of Wembley Stadium!

thanks very much!

The Foundation for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome sayss if under 6 months, turn them back (but don't stay up all night to do it). Over 6 months it seems to imply you don't need to worry, but you should put them down on their back in the first place. See here.

Once they are capable of rolling, even if they can't always roll back, surely their neck control is sufficient to keep their heads at an angle conducive to breathing - that's the logic I used to stop myself worrying once DD started doing this.