[Graham]

Just wondering what people here think about using a pillow for your baby's head when he's sleeping?

The midwife at the antenatal class we took, said not to use pillows with babies.

However, we were recently given a bedding set as a gift, which included a donut shape baby pillow, with a hole in the center, which is suppoed to prevent the baby getting a flat head (something which worries me).

What are everybody's thoughts on this?

Graham

[jane01]

I did quite a bit of reading on SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) before my daughter was born. It is recommended that you do not put pillows, cot bumpers, duvets or anything in the cot. See this link:

http://www.sidsandkids.org/safesleep/safesleepindex.htm

From the books I have read, babies heads are quite soft. If the head does go flat at the back, it will correct itself as their bones grow.

My personal experience is that I know I would not be able to sleep if my baby was using a pillow. I would just be too worried about her. There is oodles of research to show that sleeping on their backs with nothing in the cot greatly reduces the risk of SIDS. My daughter didn't get a flat head, but she did loose her hair on the back of her head, where she lay when sleeping. Now that she is older and moves around the cot a lot, it has grown back. The bald patch was very cute for a while ! I still (at 12 months) put my daughter to sleep on her back, but she is very capable of rolling around and finding her own comfortable position now.

I don't know any friends babies who have flat heads either and all of our baby group slept them on their backs.