Safe Sleep 7 & Co-Sleeping Guidelines: A Red Nose-Aligned Guide for Australian Parents

Whether to share a bed with your baby is one of the most loaded questions in early parenting. In Australia, Red Nose our peak safer-sleep authority sets the gold-standard advice, while the Safe Sleep 7 from La Leche League is widely used internationally to help breastfeeding parents who do choose to bed-share reduce the risks. This guide brings both together — what the evidence says, what Red Nose actually recommends, the Safe Sleep 7 checklist, and how a Maternal Health Nurse would talk you through it without judgment. The safest sleep place for a baby under 12 months Red Nose is clear: the safest place for a baby to sleep, day and night, is on their back, in their own safe sleep space cot, bassinet or portable cot meeting Australian Standards , in the same room as a parent or carer, for the first 6–12 months . Room-sharing not bed-sharing for at least the first 6 months is associated with a significantly lower risk of sudden unexpected death in infancy SUDI , which includes SIDS and fatal sleep accidents. The 6 Red Nose Safe Sleep Recommendations Sleep baby on the back from birth, never on the tummy or side. Keep baby''s face and head uncovered — no hats indoors, no loose blankets, no pillows, no soft toys, no bumpers, no sleep positioners. Keep baby smoke-free before and after birth. Provide a safe sleeping environment — firm, flat, waterproof mattress that fits the cot snugly, no gaps. Sleep baby in a safe cot in the parent''s/carer''s room for the first 6–12 months. Breastfeed if you can — breastfeeding reduces the risk of SUDI. What about co-sleeping and bed-sharing? Red Nose does not recommend bed-sharing , because it increases the risk of SUDI — particularly when other risk factors are present. But Red Nose also acknowledges the reality: many parents bed-share, sometimes planned, sometimes accidentally during a 3am feed. Refusing to talk about it doesn''t make babies safer — informed conversations do. If you''re going to bed-share at any point, you need to know the absolute contraindications and the harm-reduction principles below. Never bed-share if any of the following apply Baby is under 3 months old highest-risk window . Baby was premature born before 37 weeks or low birth weight under 2.5 kg . Either parent smokes , or the mother smoked during pregnancy. Either parent has consumed alcohol , taken sedating medication , or used drugs including so…