Safe Co-Sleeping With a Newborn: Room-Sharing, Not Bed-Sharing

Night feeds every few hours make it tempting to keep your baby as close as possible, and co-sleeping is often the first thing parents search for when they are this tired.

The short answer: the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends room-sharing without bed-sharing. Your baby sleeps in your room, close to your bed, on their own firm, flat surface such as a crib or bassinet, ideally for at least the first 6 months. In its 2022 safe-sleep policy statement, the AAP says it is unable to recommend bed-sharing under any circumstances.

So if safe co-sleeping means keeping your baby within arm's reach at night, room-sharing is how the AAP, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say to do it. This guide explains the co-sleeping terms, how to set up a safe sleep space, why bed-sharing raises the risk, and how to handle night feeds.

Disclosure: Formuland sells baby formula, such as our Stage 1 formulas, not cribs, bassinets or other sleep products. This guide names no sleep-product brands or models. It summarizes guidance from the AAP, NIH, CDC and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), checked November 8, 2026, and is not medical advice.

What Does Co-Sleeping Mean?

Co-sleeping is an imprecise term. The AAP's 2022 policy does not recommend using it, because it is used both for sleeping close by (room-sharing) and for sharing a sleep surface (bed-sharing). Here is what each term means and where the AAP stands.

When a relative, a forum or an older article says co-sleeping is safe, ask which kind of co-sleeping they mean. Room-sharing and bed-sharing carry very different risks, which the next sections lay out with the AAP's own figures.

Is Co-Sleeping Safe? What the AAP Recommends

Room-sharing, yes; bed-sharing, no. The AAP's 2022 policy statement, Sleep-Related Infant Deaths: Updated 2022 Recommendations for Reducing Infant Deaths in the Sleep Environment, recommends that babies sleep in the parents' room, close to the parents' bed, on a separate surface designed for infants. It cites evidence that this can decrease the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) by as much as 50%.

The policy adds that a separate infant surface avoids the suffocation, strangulation and entrapment hazards of an adult bed. Compared with room-sharing, babies sleeping in a separate room were 2.75 to 11.5 times more likely to die suddenly and unexpectedly. When all bed-sharing and surface-sharing situations were pooled, the risk was almost 3 times higher than room-sharing without bed-sharing.

The AAP writes that it understands and respects that many parents choose to bed-share, but that on the evidence it is unable to recommend bed-sharing under any circumstances. NIH's Safe to Sleep campaign gives the same advice, and CDC states that it supports the AAP's 2022 recommendations.

How to Room-Share Safely: Your Baby's Sleep Space

These steps come from the AAP policy, AAP's HealthyChildren.org safe-sleep guide, NIH and CDC. They apply to every sleep, naps included, until your baby's first birthday, and to every caregiver: grandparents, babysitters and child care providers too.

• On the back, every sleep. Side sleeping is not safe, the AAP says. Once your baby can roll both ways on their own, they can stay in the position they roll into.
• Their own space, next to your bed. Use a crib, bassinet, portable crib or play yard that meets CPSC safety standards, close enough to see and reach your baby. Follow its instructions for assembly and use, including any age or weight limit it lists.
• Firm, flat and level. The mattress should not indent under your baby's head, and any surface inclined more than 10 degrees is unsafe for sleep. Use only the mattress made for that product, with no topper.
• Fitted sheet only. No pillows, blankets, quilts, positioners or soft toys, and no bumper pads or anything else that attaches to the crib slats or sides (AAP; CPSC safe-sleep guidance).
• Dress, don't cover. Use layers of clothing or a wearable blanket, no more than one layer more than you would wear. Watch for sweating or a hot chest, keep the head uncovered and skip hats indoors once you are home from the hospital.
• Offer a pacifier at naps and bedtime, but do not force it. You do not need to put it back if it falls out; never hang it around your baby's neck, clip it to clothing or attach a toy or blanket to it. If you are not breastfeeding, NIH says you can offer one as soon as you like.
• Smoke- and vape-free. Keep your home and car free of smoke and nicotine, during pregnancy and after birth.

Swaddling is a choice, not a safety tool: the AAP says there is no evidence that it lowers the risk of SIDS. If you swaddle, always place your baby on their back and keep the swaddle snug around the chest with room at the hips and knees. Stop when your baby starts trying to roll, usually at 3 to 4 months but sometimes earlier. Never use weighted swaddles, sleepers or blankets.

The AAP's other safe-sleep steps sit outside the crib. Give your baby supervised tummy time while awake, building to at least 15 to 30 minutes a day by 7 weeks. Avoid alcohol, marijuana, opioids and illicit drugs during pregnancy and after birth, and talk to your doctor about any medicine that makes you drowsy. Keep well-child visits and vaccines on the AAP and CDC schedule.

Why Does Bed-Sharing Raise the Risk?

An adult bed is not designed for a baby. The AAP advises against placing babies on adult-sized beds or mattresses because of the risk of entrapment and suffocation. It also warns against portable bed rails. A large share of babies who die while bed-sharing are found with their face or head covered by bedding.

Some situations multiply that risk. The AAP groups them by how much they raise the risk above that of parent–infant bed-sharing itself:

A bed without these factors is still not one the AAP can recommend. The table shows where the danger is highest, which matters most in the moments you might drift off with your baby in your bed.

Is There a Safe Co-Sleeping Position?

No bed-sharing position is endorsed by the AAP, NIH or CDC. The one sleep position they recommend is your baby on their back, alone in their own crib or bassinet. Positions promoted for bed-sharing, such as curling around a baby in a "C" shape, are not part of the AAP's guidance, and this article no longer recommends them.

Placing a baby on their side is not safe and is not advised, according to the AAP. NIH adds that for a baby who usually sleeps on their back, being put down on the stomach or side, even for a nap, raises the risk of SIDS by up to 45 times.

Back sleeping does not raise the risk of choking. The AAP explains that a baby's airway anatomy and gag reflex protect against it, including for babies with reflux.

How to Handle Night Feeds While Room-Sharing

Room-sharing is the kind of co-sleeping the AAP recommends, and it is meant to make nights easier. A crib close to your bed, within view and within arm's reach, makes it easier to feed, comfort and check on your baby, the AAP notes. The risk comes when an exhausted parent falls asleep mid-feed, so plan for that moment before it happens.

1. Before you feed in your bed, clear pillows, blankets and other soft items from your side of the bed (NIH).
2. When the feed is over, put your baby back on their back in their own crib or bassinet before you go to sleep.
3. If you fall asleep with your baby in your bed, move your baby to their own sleep space as soon as you wake. The AAP says the risk is higher the longer bed-sharing lasts.
4. Never feed on a sofa or armchair if there is any chance you will fall asleep. The AAP calls couches and armchairs extremely dangerous for infant sleep, with a 22- to 67-fold increase in risk, and NIH says babies should not sleep on them alone or with anyone else.
5. If you are very tired, the AAP suggests setting an alarm or keeping a book or show on to help you stay awake; none of this makes bed-sharing safe. With a baby younger than 4 months, the AAP asks parents who feed in bed to be especially careful not to fall asleep.

Night Bottles for Formula-Fed Babies

CDC's storage rules apply at night too: use prepared formula within 2 hours of preparation and within 1 hour from when feeding begins. A bottle you will not start within 2 hours goes straight into the fridge and is used within 24 hours.

Throw out whatever is left in the bottle after the feed. If you warm a bottle, CDC says never use a microwave, which heats unevenly and can create hot spots. If your baby is younger than 2 months, was born prematurely or has a weakened immune system, CDC lists extra precautions for powdered formula; ask your pediatrician which apply.

Ready-to-feed formula, such as Kendamil ready-to-feed and HiPP ready-to-feed formula, comes as a liquid that is not mixed with water; follow its label for how long an opened bottle keeps. For water, measuring and storage times, see our guide on how to prepare and store baby formula, and for typical amounts by age, how much formula a baby needs.

Which Baby Sleep Products Should You Skip?

Federal rules now keep some of the riskiest sleep products off the U.S. market, but the AAP's products-to-avoid guide warns that they still turn up second-hand and online. These are the ones the AAP and CPSC name:

• Crib bumpers. The Safe Sleep for Babies Act, enacted in 2022, declares crib bumpers banned hazardous products, including padded bumpers, vinyl bumper guards and vertical slat covers (CPSC crib bumper guidance). The AAP says current crib-slat standards make bumpers unnecessary for safety.
• Inclined sleepers. Any product with a sleep surface inclined more than 10 degrees that is intended, marketed or designed for infant sleep up to age 1 is a banned hazardous product (16 CFR part 1310).
• In-bed sleepers, baby nests and pods that miss the federal standard. Since mid-2022, any product marketed or intended for sleep for babies up to 5 months must meet 16 CFR part 1236 unless another federal sleep-product standard covers it. The AAP says not to use a product that does not meet federal safety standards. Even for compliant ones, and for devices sold to make bed-sharing "safe", the AAP says there is not enough evidence to recommend for or against them.
• Weighted blankets, sleepers and swaddles. Do not use them on or near a sleeping baby (AAP, CPSC).
• Nursing pillows. Never for sleep; move your baby to their own sleep space after a feed (AAP).
• Car seats, swings, strollers and slings. Not for routine sleep, especially before 4 months. Dozing in a car seat in a moving car is generally safe, the AAP says. Once you are out of the car, move your baby to a firm, flat sleep surface as soon as you can.
• Home heart-rate and oxygen monitors. The AAP says not to rely on them to reduce the risk of SIDS. A monitor a doctor prescribes for a specific medical reason is a separate decision.

Before you use a crib or bassinet, especially a second-hand one, check it for recalls on the CPSC website or SaferProducts.gov, and do not use one with missing parts or instructions (AAP, CPSC).

How Long Should Your Baby Sleep in Your Room?

Ideally for at least the first 6 months. The AAP says room-sharing without bed-sharing is protective for the whole first year. It also says there is no specific evidence for when it becomes safe to move a baby to a separate room before age 1. Sleep-related deaths are most common in the first 6 months, which is why that period matters most.

The back-to-sleep and bare-crib rules last until your baby's first birthday. If you are unsure when to move your baby to their own room, ask your pediatrician at a well-child visit. For bedtime routines, see our guide to establishing a newborn sleep schedule.

Disclosure: Formuland sells baby formula, including the ready-to-feed formulas linked above. We do not sell cribs, bassinets, mattresses or any sleep product, and this guide names no brands or models of them. It summarizes AAP, NIH, CDC and CPSC guidance checked November 8, 2026, for general information; it is not medical advice. Your pediatrician comes first, especially if your baby was born early, has a low birth weight or has a medical condition.

Co-Sleeping Questions Parents Ask