NEW advice on whether parents should sleep with their babies has been drawn up with the help of a North-East academic.

The new guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is that parents should be aware of the potential risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) but should make up their own mind.

The new advice is backed by the director of Durham University’s Parent-Infant Sleep Lab, Professor Helen Ball, who is a leading expert in parent-infant sleep behaviour and a member of an expert panel which advises NICE.

The new advice is that parents with a child under the age of one should be told about the factors associated with co-sleeping (falling asleep with your baby in a bed, or on a sofa or chair) and SIDS to allow them to weigh up the possible risks and benefits and decide on sleeping arrangements that best fit their family

The updated guidance is a departure from previous national advice which discouraged parents from sleeping with their babies.

Prof Ball said: “The new guidance recommends that parents should be informed of the statistical association between co-sleeping and SIDS, but does not tell parents to never sleep with their babies.

“The key message is that health professionals must give parents balanced information to help them make decisions about where their babies sleep. The first thing the guidance asks health professionals to do is discuss the circumstances of co-sleeping with parents and carers.”

The updated recommendations – which cover the first 12 months of a child’s life – state that healthcare professionals should inform parents that the association between co-sleeping and SIDS is likely to be greater when they, or their partner smoke.

The link may also be greater with recent alcohol consumption, drug use, or if the child is premature or has a low birthweight.

Professor Mark Baker, director of the NICE centre for clinical practice, said: “We don’t know what causes these babies to die suddenly, but we do know that if a parent smokes, drinks alcohol or takes drugs then SIDS is potentially more likely to occur if they then co-sleep with their infant.”

Francine Bates, chief executive of The Lullaby Trust, said: “The new guidelines from NICE will help professionals have conversations with families both before and after the birth of their new baby.”