Parents are strongly advised to not share a bed with their infant child in a pediatric agency’s updated infant sleep guide intended to help prevent sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

The American Academy of Pediatrics — an organization of around 67,000 specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults — updated its infant safe sleep recommendations for the first time since 2016 on Wednesday.

At the top of the updated guideline, the agency emphasized the necessity for infants to sleep on their backs on flat non-inclined surfaces without soft bedding. AAP also recommends that parents sleep in the same room — but not in the same bed as a baby, preferably for at least the first six months.

“A baby’s death is tragic, heartbreaking and often preventable. If we’ve learned anything, it’s that simple is best: babies should always sleep in a crib or bassinet, on their back, without soft toys, pillows, blankets or other bedding,” said Dr. Moon, professor of pediatrics at the University of Virginia School of Medicine.

Approximately 3,500 infants die from sleep-related infant deaths annually in the United States, according to the AAP. Officials said research indicated that sleep-related death can occur when an infant with an intrinsic vulnerability to SIDS is placed in an unsafe sleep environment.

The risk of a sleep-related death for an infant is 67 times higher when the baby is sleeping with someone on a couch or soft armchair or cushion, AAP officials stated. The chances are 10 times higher when sleeping with someone who is impaired because of fatigue or use of sedating medications or substances such as alcohol or illicit drugs — or is a smoker, according to the AAP. Risks of sleeping on the same surface with someone else also increase 5-10 times when an infant is under 4 months of age, is sharing the surface with someone other than a parent or is a pre-term or low-birthweight, regardless of other factors.

To reduce the risk of sleep-related infant death, the AAP recommends the following:

AAP’s entire updated 2022 recommendation for reducing infant deaths in the sleep environment can be viewed here.

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