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Over the next 5 days, we are going to be delivering a Safer Sleep and Winter Messages series, which provides practitioners with essential guidance to support families in keeping their children safe over the festive period and, in particular, how to keep babies safe while sleeping.
Over five briefings, we will cover topics including prevention of accidental injuries, such as button battery ingestion, creating a safe sleep environment, managing disruptions during travel or festive periods, and understanding the risks associated with alcohol and co-sleeping. Each briefing will offer practical advice, resources, and links to trusted guidance, which you can share with the families you work with.
We recognise that Christmas can be a difficult time for families, and there is a lot of pressure for them to have a “perfect Christmas”. We hope that the guidance provided this week, gives families some support during the festive period.
Introduction
As temperatures drop during the winter months, families naturally try to keep their baby warm, but winter conditions can unintentionally increase the risk of overheating. Today’s briefing focuses on the essential principles of safer sleep in cold weather, highlighting temperature guidance, layering, and simple checks families can use to ensure their baby is sleeping safely.
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Guidance for Families - Managing Sleep‑Time Temperature & Overheating Risk
Below are some top tips for families around how they can manage sleep-time temperature and the risk of overheating:
- The ideal room temperature for a baby’s sleep environment is 16–20 ° This range helps protect against overheating, which is a known risk factor for Sudden Infant Death.
- Use a room thermometer, rather than relying on subjective feeling. Many rooms that feel “normal” to adults, may actually be too warm for a sleeping baby.
- As soon as babies come indoors - especially after being outside or in transit (for example, in a car or pram) - ensure they are no longer wearing hats, coats, thick outdoor clothing or gloves. Their head should remain uncovered during sleep: babies regulate heat through their heads, and covering the head significantly increases risk.
- When using bedding, remember that a folded blanket counts as two layers. Thick, fleece‑lined or padded blankets, or adult‑style duvets and quilts, are strongly discouraged, as they can trap heat and increase Sudden Infant Death risk. Instead, families should opt for a lightweight blanket or a properly sized baby sleep bag, especially for room temperatures within 16–20 °
- To check if a baby is too warm, parents should feel the baby’s chest or back of their neck. Checking the temperature of the baby’s hands and feet is not reliable, as it’s normal for them to feel cooler, even when the baby’s temperature is fine. If skin feels hot or sweaty, one or more layers should be removed.
- Overheating signs that should prompt layer reduction include sweating, a hot or flushed chest or neck, clamminess, or unusual irritability or restlessness.
- Families should avoid using hats, gloves or extra head coverings at night, even if such items were used when the baby was in neonatal care or outdoors. For sleep, babies generally only need a vest, a sleepsuit and possibly a lightweight sleep bag, depending on the room temperature.
- Even when it's cold outside, trying to “over‑insulate” a baby indoors can be dangerous. It is usually safer to err on the side of slightly cool, rather than too warm. Regular checks and adjustments (based on the baby’s skin, not adults’ comfort) are key.
Useful Links
For further information about winter safer sleep, please use the following resources:
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