Falling asleep with baby? Bed is 67x safer than couch
One third of moms in the US of babies age 8-12 weeks report falling asleep with their baby in the last two weeks sometimes to very often, and that number is up to half for breastfeeding moms surveyed. 80% of the time, moms report they fell asleep by accident, and 15% of the time, they are on a sofa or chair, and not a bed. I’m Dr. Wagner, a board certified pediatrician and mom who also fell asleep by accident many times with my three kids while breastfeeding overnight. This data comes from a November 2024 study in the journal Pediatrics that surveyed 1200 moms. We have all probably heard the AAP safe sleep recommendations (linked below) to prevent sudden unexplained infant death - on back, no stuff in the crib, flat hard surface, own sleep space – So many well intentioned very tired moms in this study said they moved to the chair or couch because they thought it would make it easier to stay awake for the feeds, but then ended up falling asleep anyway. However, sleeping with a baby on a couch is 49 to 67 times higher risk for infant death than sleeping with a baby in a bed. Pediatricians understand that many moms fall asleep with their babies even when they’re trying not to – new moms are sleep deprived, still recovering from pregnancy and delivery, and breastfeeding moms are producing a ton of oxytocin the comfy sleepy hormone – so if a new mom is feeling very sleepy during a feed, the AAP recommends feeding in a bed NOT a couch or chair because the risk is so much higher for a bad outcome if you fall asleep on that couch or chair compared to the bed . So if you are a new mom feeling so sleepy during an overnight feed you’re not sure if you can stay awake through the feed, please feed in a bed not on a couch to reduce risk.
AAP Safe sleep guidelines: https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/sleep/Pages/a-parents-guide-to-safe-sleep.aspx
Sofas are dangerous study: PMID 25311597
Falling asleep feeding study: PMID 39483051
