Room sharing, cots and moving to their own room

Guidance to share a room for the first six months is one of the clearer safe sleep recommendations and one of the most frequently asked about.

The recommendation and its basis

Sleeping the baby in a cot, crib or moses basket in the same room as a caregiver for the first six months, for daytime and night sleeps, is recommended in most national guidance.

The evidence comes from case-control studies showing lower rates of sudden infant death in room-sharing infants, with the effect concentrated in the first six months.

The mechanism is not fully established, with proposed explanations including more frequent parental checking, the effect of adult breathing and movement on infant arousal, and easier response to a baby in difficulty.

Room sharing is not the same as bed sharing, which is a separate discussion covered elsewhere on this site.

Practicalities of sharing

What makes it workable.

A bedside cot with a drop-down side keeps the baby on a separate safe surface within reach, which suits night feeding and reduces the temptation to feed in bed and fall asleep.

A moses basket or crib for the early weeks, moving to a cot when the baby outgrows it or can push up on hands and knees.

Keeping the baby's sleep space clear of everything, including any gap between a bedside cot and the adult mattress.

Feeding in a chair rather than in bed where possible, given the risk of falling asleep.

And accepting that both of you will hear each other, since babies are noisy sleepers and parents wake at every grunt for the first weeks.

When to move them

A decision rather than a rule after six months.

Considerations: whether anyone is sleeping, whether the noise of each other is a problem, the size of the room, and whether the baby is now waking the adults or the adults are waking the baby.

Some evidence suggests infants moved to their own room earlier sleep longer stretches, and this is observational and confounded, so it is not a reason to move before six months.

Many families move around six to nine months, many later, and some considerably later or not at all, and none of these are wrong.

Making the transition

Practical steps that reduce disruption.

Use the new room for naps first, for a week or two.

Keep everything else the same — same routine, same sleeping bag, same sounds.

Make the room dark and at a similar temperature.

Move at a settled time rather than during illness, teething, a nap transition or a house move.

And expect a few disrupted nights that settle.

The cot itself

Safety points.

A cot meeting current safety standards, with the correct mattress leaving no gap at the sides.

A firm, flat mattress with a fitted sheet and nothing else.

Lower the base as soon as the baby can sit, and again when they can stand.

Remove bumpers, pods and anything soft.

Keep the cot away from windows, blind cords, radiators, shelves and anything reachable.

Check that a second-hand cot has not been recalled and has all its parts and instructions.

And stop using a cot when the child can climb out, which is a significant fall risk.

Monitors

Worth a proportionate note.

Audio and video monitors are useful for hearing a baby in another room and are a convenience rather than a safety device.

Devices marketed as detecting breathing or oxygen levels and preventing sudden infant death have no evidence of doing so, and paediatric bodies advise against relying on them.

They produce false alarms, and there is some concern that they generate anxiety and false reassurance in equal measure.

Whatever is used, cords must be well out of reach of the cot, since monitor cables have caused strangulation deaths.

Siblings sharing

A common arrangement later on.

Babies should not share a sleep surface with another child.

Sharing a room with a sibling is generally fine once the baby is past the early months and each has their own safe sleep space.

Staggering bedtimes during the transition helps, and children frequently sleep through each other's noise better than adults expect.

And the older child needs preparing rather than surprising, which is worth a conversation in advance.

General information only, not medical advice. Follow your national safe sleep guidance and consult your health visitor about sleep arrangements.