Originally shared by Anne Sweden.
Updated August 30, 2026
If you are searching for how to safely co-sleep with a baby, start by defining the term. “Co-sleeping” may mean sleeping in the same room or sharing the same bed. Those are not equally safe. The safest arrangement recommended by major pediatric and public-health authorities is room-sharing without bed-sharing: your baby sleeps near you on a separate surface designed for infant sleep.
The American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend bed-sharing with an infant. The Canadian joint statement on safe sleep also says that sharing a sleep surface increases the risk of SIDS, suffocation, entrapment and overheating. No sleep setup can remove every risk, but the steps below can make an infant’s sleep environment safer.
This article provides general education, not individualized medical advice. Ask your baby’s healthcare provider about premature birth, low birth weight, medical conditions, medications or any sleep concern specific to your family.
What safe co-sleeping means
The word co-sleeping is often confusing because it can describe two different arrangements:
- Room-sharing: the baby sleeps in the same room as a parent or caregiver, but on a separate infant sleep surface such as a crib, bassinet, play yard or approved bedside sleeper.
- Bed-sharing: the baby sleeps on the same mattress, sofa, chair or other surface as an adult, another child or a pet.
The NIH Safe to Sleep campaign explains that room-sharing is safer than bed-sharing and safer than placing a young baby in a separate room. It keeps the baby close for feeding, comforting and checking while protecting the baby’s separate sleep space.
How to safely co-sleep: 10 room-sharing tips
1. Put the crib or bassinet beside your bed
Place a safety-approved crib, bassinet, play yard or bedside sleeper close enough that you can reach and check your baby without sharing the adult mattress. The baby’s sleep product should be assembled and used exactly as its manufacturer directs. Do not improvise a sidecar by removing a crib rail unless the product is specifically designed and approved for that use.
2. Place your baby on their back for every sleep
Put your baby down on their back for naps and nighttime sleep. Side and stomach placement are not recommended for routine infant sleep. If your baby can roll both ways independently, continue placing them on their back at the beginning of each sleep, then follow your healthcare provider’s advice about developmental changes.
For a broader overview of risk-reduction habits, see our guide to helping prevent SIDS.
3. Use a firm, flat and level sleep surface
The mattress should be firm, flat, level and made for that particular crib or bassinet. Cover it only with a tightly fitted sheet. Adult mattresses, memory foam, air mattresses, waterbeds, couches and armchairs are not designed for infant sleep. Wedges and inclined positioning do not make sleep safer, including for routine reflux concerns unless a qualified clinician gives case-specific instructions.
4. Keep the baby’s sleep space completely bare
Keep pillows, quilts, loose blankets, stuffed toys, crib bumpers, nursing pillows, sleep positioners and other soft objects out of the infant sleep area. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission summarizes this as “Bare is Best”: only the baby and a fitted sheet belong in the crib, bassinet or play yard.
Do not add weighted blankets, weighted swaddles or weighted sleep sacks. Dress the baby appropriately for the room instead of adding loose bedding.
5. Room-share for at least the first six months
The AAP, CDC and Canadian guidance recommend keeping the baby’s separate sleep space in the caregiver’s room, ideally for at least the first six months, when the risk of SIDS is highest. Room-sharing makes nighttime care easier without the hazards of a shared surface.
6. Keep adults, siblings and pets out of the infant sleep space
A crib or bassinet is for the baby alone. Do not place a sibling, twin, adult or pet in the same sleep space. Guardrails, pillows or placing an adult mattress against a wall do not turn that mattress into a safety-approved infant sleep surface; they can create entrapment or suffocation hazards.
7. Plan nighttime feeds before you are exhausted
Prepare the baby’s separate sleep space before feeding begins. If you bring your baby into bed to feed or comfort them, return them to the crib or bassinet before you go back to sleep. Never feed on a couch or armchair when you might doze off; these surfaces are particularly dangerous if an adult falls asleep with an infant.
If you unexpectedly fall asleep while feeding in bed, return the baby to their separate sleep area as soon as you wake. NIH guidance also advises removing pillows, blankets and loose sheets from the feeding area beforehand whenever there is a chance you may fall asleep. This is a harm-reduction step, not a claim that bed-sharing is safe.
8. Avoid smoke, alcohol, cannabis, illicit drugs and sedating substances
Keep the baby’s environment smoke- and nicotine-free during pregnancy and after birth. Alcohol, cannabis, illicit drugs and medications that reduce alertness can make it harder for a caregiver to wake or respond. Ask a pharmacist or clinician whether any prescription or non-prescription medication causes drowsiness. A baby should always remain on their separate sleep surface, and an impaired or extremely fatigued caregiver should not share a sleep surface with an infant.
9. Prevent overheating and keep the head uncovered
Use light sleep clothing suitable for the room and keep the baby’s head and face uncovered. Watch for sweating, a hot chest or flushed skin. Indoor hats and extra layers are not needed for sleep unless a healthcare professional has given specific instructions. A properly fitted, non-weighted wearable blanket may be used when appropriate for the baby and the product.
10. Move a sleeping baby out of sitting and lounging products
Car seats are essential for travel, but they are not a routine sleep space once the trip is over. If a baby falls asleep in a car seat, stroller, swing, bouncer, carrier or lounger, move them to a firm, flat, approved sleep surface as soon as practical. Check infant sleep products and second-hand equipment for recalls, missing parts and current safety requirements before use.
What if your baby will not settle in the crib?
Frequent waking is tiring, and struggling with a separate sleep surface does not mean you are doing anything wrong. Keep the crib close, use a calm and repeatable routine, and take turns with another alert caregiver when possible. Our daytime sleep tips for a baby’s first year offer ideas for observing sleep patterns, but an infant’s needs vary with age, feeding, health and development.
Talk with your baby’s healthcare provider if sleep problems are persistent, if you are worried about breathing or feeding, or if exhaustion makes it difficult to follow a safe plan. Parents deserve practical, nonjudgmental support.
Frequently asked questions
Is co-sleeping safe for a newborn?
Room-sharing can be a recommended arrangement from birth when the newborn sleeps on a separate, approved infant surface. Bed-sharing is not recommended. Babies younger than four months, babies born prematurely and babies with low birth weight are especially vulnerable to sleep-related risks.
Can a baby sleep in an adult bed if there are no pillows?
Removing pillows does not make an adult bed equivalent to a crib or bassinet. Adult mattresses can be too soft and may have gaps, loose bedding or other entrapment hazards. Use a separate infant sleep product that meets current safety standards.
Are bedside sleepers safe?
Use only a product intended and approved for infant sleep, follow its age and weight limits, attach it exactly as directed and stop using it when the manufacturer says to do so. An improvised crib, detached rail or unapproved in-bed product is not a substitute.
Does a home breathing monitor prevent SIDS?
Consumer breathing and heart-rate monitors are not a replacement for safe-sleep practices, and the AAP does not recommend home cardiorespiratory monitors as a strategy to prevent SIDS. Use medical monitoring only when prescribed and explained by your baby’s clinician.
The safest way to sleep close to your baby
If your goal is closeness, easier feeding and quicker comforting, room-sharing offers those benefits without sharing the adult mattress. Keep the baby close, on their back, in a separate bare crib or bassinet with a firm, flat and level surface. Consistency matters for every sleep—at night, during naps, at home and while travelling.
Authoritative safe-sleep resources
- American Academy of Pediatrics: 2022 recommendations for reducing sleep-related infant deaths
- NIH Safe to Sleep: Safe sleep environment
- Public Health Agency of Canada: Joint statement on safe sleep
- CDC: Providing care for babies to sleep safely
- CPSC: Safe sleep—cribs and infant products
