How to choose baby sleeping products

With so many baby sleeping products on the market it can be hard to know what to choose, so use these guidelines to help you choose safer sleep products for your baby.

A baby is sleeping with their arms either side of their head. They're wearing yellow, have light skin and a dummy in their mouth.

A baby is sleeping and smiling in their sleep. Their arms are either side of their head.

Baby sleeping products

This page guides you through how to choose safer sleep products or items that your baby needs to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

First, remember that the safest place for a baby to sleep is in their own clear, flat, separate sleep space, such as a cot or Moses basket.

We recommend a firm, flat mattress with a waterproof cover. Sleeping your baby on their back in their own clear, flat, separate sleep space helps reduce the risk SIDS.

Illustration of a man, woman and baby sleeping. The man and woman are both facing in the direction of the baby, who is sleeping next to mum. The baby is sleeping on the mattress, with no bedding covering them and no pillow beneath their head.

If you’re planning on co-sleeping with your baby

Whether you plan to co-sleep with your baby or you plan to sleep separately, we recommend learning more about co-sleeping, and how to make your bed safer for co-sleeping. If you are planning to co-sleep with your baby, have a cot or Moses basket ready for times when sharing a bed is high risk. Co-sleeping with your baby is very dangerous if:

You or anyone in the bed has recently drunk any alcohol
You or anyone in the bed smokes or the baby was exposed to smoking in pregnancy
You or anyone in the bed has taken any drugs or medication that make you feel sleepy
Your baby was born prematurely (before 37 weeks of pregnancy) or weighed under 2.5kg or 5.5 pounds when they were born.

A baby is being put down to sleep in a cot. They are looking up at their parent.

You don't need much for safer sleep

For safer sleep, you don’t need to buy lots of products or spend money on expensive items. There are just a few items that we recommend:

Cot or Moses basket
Portable sleep space such as Moses basket, travel cot or carry cot
Mattress
Sleeping bag or sheets and a lightweight blanket
Room thermometer 
Car seat – this is not intended for sleeping when not travelling , but is essential for safer travel.

Baby and a mum are shopping together. The baby is smiling at someone out of frame and the mum is looking at the baby. The baby has blonde hair, light skin and is grasping onto a baby grow.

Things to check

Check if the product meets British Safety Standards. If it does, it should say so either on the product itself, its packaging, the instructions or on the website.

If the item is something for your baby to sleep on such as a mattress, ask yourself:

Is it firm? The baby’s head should not sink in by more than a few millimetres.
Is it entirely flat with no raised or cushioned areas?
Does it have a waterproof layer?

A dad is holding their baby on their chest, with his hand on the baby's back.

Things to avoid

Some products available for babies to sleep in might not provide the safest position for their breathing (airway). We advise against letting babies sleep in anything that keeps them in a seated or inclined position as this can restrict their breathing. We also advise against soft items such as loose bedding and pillows, as the baby’s face can become pressed against them which can block their breathing.

We recommend that you avoid:

Soft sided pods or nests
Pillows, duvets or thick heavy bedding
Cot bumpers
Bouncy chairs
Baby hammocks
Bean bags
Baby swings
Hammocks
Sleep positioners.

If your baby falls asleep in a swing or baby bouncer, take them out and place them on their back, in their own separate sleep space such as a cot or Moses basket. This will help keep your baby’s airway open so they can breathe easily.

Frequently asked questions

Is this product safe?

We don’t comment on individual brands but have put together a product guide on what to look for and what to avoid when buying sleeping products for your baby. Some products don’t meet these guidelines so it’s helpful to familiarise yourself with the essentials.

The key things to check are that the mattress is firm, waterproof and entirely flat with no raised or cushioned areas. Make sure the cot is kept free of bumpers, toys and loose bedding and don’t use pillows and duvets for babies under 12 months.

This product claims no baby has ever died of SIDS whilst using it. Is it safe?

Just because a product claims no baby has died from SIDS whilst using it doesn’t mean it’s safe or safer. As the number of babies dying of SIDS in the UK is now thankfully very low, this claim doesn’t prove the product is safer than others.

Our safer sleep advice is based on extensive research, but the research only looks at SIDS, not individual products. As new products are launched all the time, it would not be possible for us to test them all so we have to look at the evidence collected over many years. This shows that a firm, flat surface is best for sleeping babies.

This product says it has passed safety tests – does this refer to safer sleep?

British Safety Standards do not mean that a product helps to reduce the risk of SIDS. Though we’d still encourage you to make sure that any product you buy has a British Standard. This guarantees a certain level of general safety (e.g. it will not fall apart or set on fire easily).

Remember to carefully follow the manufacturers’ instructions for any product you buy, and contact the manufacturer directly with any questions.

Are pods and nests okay places to sleep my baby?

No. We advise against using pods and nests as sleep spaces because they are soft with raised or cushioned sides. When sleeping, babies shouldn’t lie on or have anything soft around them, particularly their heads. This can cause them to overheat and increases the risk of SIDS.

Soft, squishy materials can also cover baby’s mouth and nose if they are pressed against it.

While there is a British Safety Standard for cot mattresses, there is no standard for pods or nests as a sleeping place for babies.

Which British Safety Standards should I look out for?

We strongly recommend that any second-hand product you choose meets the relevant British Standards, especially if you are buying an item online. A British Standard tells us that the product has passed certain safety tests, such as making sure it will not fall apart or easily catch fire.

Safety standards for baby sleep products

Cots and travel cots: BS EN 716-1:2017
Moses baskets and carry cots: BS EN 1466:2014 or BS EN 1466:2023
Bedside cribs: Since 2020, all bedside cribs should meet the new crib safety standard BS EN 1130:2019. Meaning cots should no longer have a side that fully drops down.
Mattresses: BS 7177:2008+A1:2011
Mattresses for cots, travel cots and cribs: BS EN 16890:2017+A1:2021
Car seat: ECE Regulation 44.04 (or R 44.03) or to the new i-size regulation, R129. Look for the ‘E’ mark label on the seat.
Sleepbags: BS EN 16781:2018.

Note there is no safety standard related to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). This means that even if a product meets the relevant British Standards, it won’t necessarily be safe when it comes to reducing the risk of SIDS.

Do you recommend any safer sleep products?

New baby sleep products come on to the market regularly. We don’t generally recommend for or against any individual brands or products. We have some corporate partnerships with key manufacturers. We only associate with companies that are committed to safety, producing products aligning with our safer sleep guidelines. But our corporate partnerships do not influence our safer sleep advice, this is informed by scientific research.

Make sure any product you use meets British Safety Standards. For safer sleep, go for a cot, crib or Moses basket. To help choose a mattress , simply ask, is it firm, is it flat, is it waterproof and does it fit the sleep space well? Keep the space clear of any unnecessary items such as toys or cot bumpers.

Remember

If you’re ever in doubt about which products to buy for safer sleep, choose a cot or Moses basket with a firm, flat, waterproof mattress. Just ask: is it firm, is it flat, is it waterproof? Keep the space clear of any extra items so your baby can breathe easily, and you can relax in the knowledge they’re sleeping in the safest way possible.

Baby is laying down smiling and giggling, grasping their hands together. They have light skin and wear a white babygrow.

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