Choosing a baby sleep professional: a checklist for families

This checklist will help you have conversations with sleep consultants, sleep coaches and others who may help with baby sleep advice. This will help empower you to make informed decisions about the support you receive and the care of your baby.

A mum is looking down at her baby in her knee. A health visitor is next to them, talking to the mother. A cot is in the background.

On this page

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.

About baby sleep patterns

The first year when your baby wakes up often can be tough, and just when you think you have things figured out, your baby’s sleep pattern can change again. It might seem like everyone else’s babies sleep more than yours or you may worry that you are doing something wrong. Baby sleep patterns are different to adults and it’s not uncommon for them to wake up often.

Our past surveys show that almost two thirds (59%) of parents with babies under a year old say their baby sleeps for less than four hours at a stretch. And almost half (44%) of parents think their baby should be sleeping for longer than they do.

For new and expectant parents’, knowing safer sleep advice is vital for the safety of your baby. Thanks to this advice, rates of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) have decreased significantly. You might see products available or receive well-meaning advice to help you get your baby to sleep longer or deeper. This can actually be dangerous as it can affect your baby’s ability to wake up if they need to.

Baby sleep patterns Sleep deprivation

A baby is being breastfed by their mum. They look very young, have curly dark hair and dark skin. Their mum is looking down at them.

Seeking support

If you decide to seek support from a sleep coach or sleep consultant, it’s important to make sure they also follow safer sleep advice. They should not recommend anything that goes against this advice or could put your baby at risk. We have developed a checklist to help you have conversations with sleep consultants, sleep coaches and others who may help with baby sleep advice. This will help empower you to make informed decisions about the support you receive and the care of your baby.

Sometimes having conversations with professionals can feel difficult. We have come up with some practical tips and phrases to help you feel confident in starting those conversations.

If you are planning on using someone who will be directly responsible for placing your baby to sleep, use our early years toolkit instead.

Before you ask the questions in this toolkit, you can introduce it to the sleep professional. You may wish to say something like:

We follow safer sleep guidance at home, and we want to be sure that any advice you offer around sleep is in line with the safer sleep advice from The Lullaby Trust. The Lullaby Trust have produced a checklist I would like to go through to help me feel comfortable.

The Lullaby Trust have produced a checklist to help me choose a sleep coach or sleep consultant that follows safer sleep guidance – can we go through this please?

The Lullaby Trust suggests using this checklist to help me understand how you take safer sleep advice into consideration with any advice you offer. Can you tell me about safer sleep and reducing the risk of SIDS?

Questions to ask

Here are some questions to ask any sleep coach or sleep consultant you are considering using for all babies under 12 months of age (or 12 months adjusted for babies born premature).

1. Are you aware of The Lullaby Trust’s safer sleep advice?

The sleep consultant should be aware of our safer sleep advice. Our safer sleep advice has saved the lives of over 31,951 babies since 1991.

The safest place for a baby to sleep is in their own clear, flat, firm separate sleep space (e.g. a cot or Moses basket) in the same room as you.

Safer sleep overview

Illustration of a baby sleeping wearing a flower onesie.

2. Have you completed SIDS & safer sleep training such as that provided by The Lullaby Trust?

The sleep consultant would ideally have completed in-depth training such as Lullaby Trust training which is designed for professionals and practitioners who work closely with families and have a core responsibility for providing safer sleep advice. This course will deepen the sleep consultant’s understanding of SIDS and equip them with tools to confidently share safer sleep guidance.

Man sitting at desk doing The Lullaby Trust training

SIDS and safer sleep for babies training

3. What’s your knowledge of safer sleep and how do you implement this into your advice, guidance or strategies?

4. What position do you recommend babies sleep in?

The sleep consultant should be aware of our guidance. We would always recommend that babies under one year (or one year adjusted for babies born premature) are placed down to sleep on their backs.

Sleeping position

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

5. What items do you recommend a baby sleeps in?

The sleep consultant should be aware that babies should sleep on a firm, entirely flat, waterproof mattress such as in a cot, Moses basket, travel cot or carrycot, with no raised or cushioned sides. We specifically advise against babies sleeping in

Soft sided pods or nests
Bouncy chairs
Baby hammocks
Bean bags
Baby swings
Sleep positioners
Sofas

Baby sleeping products

Baby sleeping on their back in a cot. A green tick in the top right corner.

6. What is your advice on co-sleeping and are there any times you would advise against co-sleeping?

The sleep consultant should be familiar with our co-sleeping guidance to co-sleep more safely. We specifically advise against co-sleeping 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

You should not sleep on a sofa or armchair with your baby.

Co-sleeping

7. Where do you recommend babies sleep for the first six months?

The sleep consultant should understand that we advise that babies should be slept in the same room as the parents/carer for at least the first 6 months.

Room sharing

An illustration where two men are lying in bed with their baby's cot next to them. The baby is in a safer sleeping position in the cot, on their back with bedding firmly tucked around them, with their feet to the foot of the cot.

8. What is your understanding of ‘clear cot’?

The sleep consultant should be aware that we recommend no additional items in a baby’s cot other than the baby and their bedding.

Keeping a clear cot

Baby in a cot with their parent standing next to them.

9. How do you take room temperature and the risk of overheating into consideration as part of your advice?

The sleep consultant should understand that the recommended room temperature for babies is 16-20°C so that they don’t get too hot. Keeping the temperature within this range, where possible, helps to lower the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Room temperature

10. How do you support the continuation of breastfeeding where applicable?

Make sure the sleep consultant is aware that breastfeeding lowers the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and research has shown that any amount of breastfeeding helps.

Breastfeeding

11. What would your advice be for babies with reflux?

We would always advise that from the point of view of SIDS prevention, a baby should be slept on their back on a firm, flat, waterproof mattress. Do not incline, tilt or prop the mattress, cot or baby. Doing so will not help with reflux and is unlikely to improve cold symptoms.

12. What would you advise if we want to sleep our baby in a way that doesn’t follow safer sleep?

A close up of a baby's hand grasping the parent's hand

Keeping babies safe

If you have any concerns about safer sleep, you can contact us for advice and support. You can call our free baby safety helpline on 0808 802 6869 or email [email protected].

Email us

Baby safety

Checklist for choosing a baby sleep professional

This checklist will help you have conversations with sleep consultants, sleep coaches and others who may help with baby sleep advice.

Read more

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Remember

Extreme tiredness can be very hard to live with. Even though you were probably expecting some sleepless nights, the reality might be harder than you imagined. Sometimes it can feel uncomfortable asking for help, but we aren’t meant to do this alone and people are often willing to help. If a trusted friend, relative or neighbour can watch the baby for an hour or so while you catch up on sleep, this can make a big difference.

If you are worried about your baby’s sleep, ask your midwife, health visitor, GP or NHS 111.

Every baby safe. Every family supported.

If you found this information helpful, consider donating today to help us reach and help the next parent or carer, just like you. Your kindness will:

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Support grieving families through the darkest days of their lives
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Take us one step closer to a world where no baby dies suddenly or unexpectedly

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Baby Check app

Our Baby Check app gives you peace of mind, in your pocket. If your baby is under six months of age, you can use the Baby Check app to find out if they need to see a health professional.

Close up of a baby's face, sleeping on their back and wearing a yellow stripy baby grow.

Safer sleep in childcare: checklist for families

We know that leaving your baby in the care of someone else may be tough. This checklist helps you have conversations with childcare providers and ask the right questions.

Grandmother sitting on a sofa with a baby on her lap wearing a baby grow.

Other carers/babysitters

Whether you’re a grandparent, aunt, uncle, babysitter or family friend, our safer sleep advice explains the simple steps you can take to keep babies safe while they’re in your care.