My belief is that, even with the best intentions to always have baby sleeping in their own space, the possibility is there that at some point, sleeping with your baby may just end up happening anyway. So, better to be prepared with all the knowledge of how to do this safely!

1. Never fall asleep with your baby on a sofa or armchair - the risk of SIDS is 50x higher for babies in this situations than not. There is also the risk of accident or death due to your baby moving, and possibly becoming trapped, in a situation where they can't breathe. If you're resting with your sleeping baby in front of the TV and feel yourself getting tired, just like when on the motorway, take a break - get up, put the baby somewhere safe, make a coffee...

2. Never share a sleep space with your baby if you've had alcohol or drugs or if you smoke - your ability to respond to your baby's needs is reduced when under the influence of substances so it's important you plan ahead. You can perhaps have a sober friend or relative come over to help out or set up a safe sleep space in advance for your baby to go into. Bedsharing if you're a smoker has also been found to increase risk of SIDS.

3. Never share with your premature baby - this refers to any baby born before 37 weeks or at a weight of less than 2.5kg or under 5.5lbs. 

Beyond these circumstances, you then want to make sure the sleeping environment is at it's safest for you and baby as it's been found that 90% of deaths that occurred while bedsharing, occurred when the set-up was hazardous in some way:

1. Keep pets away from the bed and only share with 1 child at a time - this is advised no matter the ages of the children, including with twins. 

2. Keep pillows and adult bedding away from baby - as with general safe sleep advice, your baby is safest in a clear space with as few objects as possible that could risk covering their face or causing suffocation or overheating. The easiest sleepwear option for your bedsharing baby is a sleeping bag - no extra blankets or sheets are needed on top of this.

3. Make sure baby cannot become trapped, wedged or fall out of the bed - It's important to consider the position of your bed and baby in it, to ensure baby can't, for example, become wedged between the bed and a wall

4. Follow the safe sleep ABC's ensuring baby is put to sleep on their back, in a clear part of the bed and you always have a safe sleep space available for every sleep. Having an alternative, separate space, such as a Moses basket or cot, in your room is a useful insurance for if you are unable to share a bed safely with your baby for any reason and need a safe space for their sleep.

5. Never leave your baby on the bed unsupervised - even very young, seemingly immobile, babies can get themselves into tricky situations