This key publication, produced jointly by FSID and the Department of Health, outlines the key steps parents can take to reduce the risk of cot death including the advice to:

• Place your baby on the back to sleep
• Cut smoking in pregnancy - fathers too!
• Do not let anyone smoke in the same room as your baby
• Do not let your baby get too hot (or too cold)
• Keep baby's head uncovered - place your baby with their feet to the foot of the cot
• The safest place for your baby to sleep is in a cot in a room with you for the first six months
• Do not share a bed with your baby if you have been drinking alcohol, take drugs or if you are a smoker
• If your baby is unwell, seek medical advice promptly

Click here to order your free copy of the Reduce the Risk of cot death booklet.

For larger orders, contact the Department of Health Orderline on 08701 555 455 or email doh@prolog.co.uk.

This leaflet is available in languages other than English. The English version was last updated in February 2007 but the Department of Health has not updated the versions in other languages since 2000. There have been two advice changes. One is on page 9: The safest place for your baby to sleep is in a cot in a room with you for the first six months. The other is on page 3: It is possible that using a dummy at the start of any sleep period reduces the risk of cot death. If breastfeeding, do not begin to give a dummy until the baby is one month old to ensure breastfeeding is well established.