I am sure there are more ways possible, but one way I personally would prevent it is by,letting a cat sleep in the babies crib because cats like to cuddle close and I wouldn't take the chance on lettig the cat lay against the babies face.

Yes indeed they can. If a child is not old enough to sit up reliably and with little or no effort (And sometimes even if they are), they don't have the muscle/weight ratio, nor the developed reflexes, to keep themselves from suffocating in their sleep if laid facedown on a pillow for extended periods.

They used to think this but they aren't as sure anymore. If the bedding is firm and tight, ther isn't as much danger than if the bedding is soft and his face could sink in it and suffocate.

yes they can if your babys head isnt to the side. but as my mum keeps telling me "its how we did it in my day none of this always on their back" (go mum!!!) what im trying to get to is me my bro's and sis were all slept on our tummy and we are fine...

its pretty much depends on the childs age. my son is 8 months old and he sleeps on his tummy all the time because he is able to roll himself back and forth. Im not too sure about the whole dying part but it can be dangerous. I mean when i was young it was recommended for parents to put their children to sleep on their tummies...and i made it just fine.

Yes. My little brother died at 6 weeks old (in the 80's) laying on his stomach. If you take a new baby and lay them on their stomach you will notice they will try to turn their head. The problem is their neck muscles are not strong enough to turn their head. Eventually they will get tired of bobbing their head and they will lay on they face, this is how they suffocate. So please on their backs till they are old enough to roll over on their own.

My son would refuse to sleep then when i would hold him by laying him on my chest he would go right to sleep. so we tryed laying him on his stomach in his bassinet at about 3 months and he has slept that way ever since, he is now 10 months old and well able to roll his self over to sleep on his tummy. in fact at this very moment he is asleep in his play-pen on his stomach, using a stuffed dino as a pillow.

In my experiance mine slept better that way to so I would lay them like that till they got into a good sleep and quickly flip them over fast enough so not to disturb them.

Yes ia baby can. It's called died of SIDS. I never put my children on their stomach til they were old enough to roll over one their own. I always put my children on their side or their back.

The whole issue with sids is newer. Back when my mom was a baby and even when i was a baby they would put us on our stomachs. Anything is possible. With my daughter, i lay her down on her back and she rolls to her stomach. She has done that since she was 4 months old or so. If a child is laying on his/her back, and spit up, they can choke, so either way, there is a risk. But i agree with smaller babies being more likely to suffocate b/c they can't move their heads to the side.

Forty years ago, doctors recommended putting a baby on its tummy and said they could die of choking if you put them on their backs. If your baby has reflux, the doctor will still tell you to put it on its tummy. I won't go so far as to say that you should put your baby on its tummy. There is some research that suggests a baby can suffocate that way. However, even newer research is suggesting that more cases of SIDS may be caused by an inner ear problem that causes a baby to die because it doesn't waken when its blood sugar starts to drop. (I know, it sounds like it doesn't make sense. I don't remember all the connections) When my child didn't sleep, my neighbors who raised four, five and seven children safely, all told me to make sure the crib was stripped of anything soft and to put my baby on a hard mattress on her tummy. We did, and she was fine. When she was two, we found out she had serious reflux among other issues, so every time we put her on her back she was in instant excruciating pain and could do nothing about it.

A baby can die of SIDS on it's back or stomach. Doctors say it is better for them to sleep on their back or side, and they may be correct. Who knows? With our first child, we tried to get her to sleep on her back but she simply would not. We would always wake up to find her on her stomach. We were worried to death she would die of SIDS. Thankfully everything turned out just fine.

Yes. That's why I never put my daughter on her stomach. I still put her on her back to this day and if she rolls over, she rolls over.

That is what they currently say...but I've put both of my children on their tummies because I didn't want them to have weird-shaped heads and/or bald spots and they are very much alive. Of course, when they were little, there were no suggestions of keeping babies on their backs to avoid SIDS.

The problem is not so much laying them on their tummy as giving them soft pillows. When my son was born he was premature and the nurses in the neonatal unit laid him on his tummy to sleep. He wouldn't sleep any other way when I got him home. I suppose he is like his mum as I sleep on my tummy. When we were babies my mother said they were advices not to lay a baby on its back as it would choke on its own vomit. A sign of the times I guess.

matters how old the child is. when it starts turning on it own its able to sleep on its tummy.. if u place the infint on its tummy u might want to look up (SIDS)

More babies get squashed by overweight parents than sleeping peacefully on their tummies...

Yes so make sure you have 'em ensured before you start being a bad parent

make sure the bedding is firm, the blanket is not going to come over baby's head in any way,(sometimes they wiggle down and the blanket gets pulled over their heads..) and that baby can lift head and turn.. also use pillows with air holes in. but i would say for at least the first few weeks, keep them swaddled quite comfortably, and lay baby on one side, with support at the back.(a teddy or something will do nicely.and remember to turn on other side next naptime.. some babies detest sleeping on their backs, because they came out of an enclosed space(womb) and need to feel secure, so keep their hands against their bodies, or touching something, they will instantly enjoy better sleep.

It is a horrible thing to even think about, but common sense really is the biggest factor in deciding how to lay the baby down. Doctors are now recommending you lay babies on their backs to sleep, because they are obligatory nose breathers. If you lay them on their bellies and they throw up, they can get their little noses blocked in the wet blanket and suffocate... At least, that is the theory that has been relayed to me. However. I've Raised 5 youngsters past crib death, and back then, the doctors were saying that they should be laid on their bellies. (just the opposite of what we are being taught now). This creates confusion with my grandchildren, because we old folks are telling our children the opposite things they are being told by their doctors. Of course, since the doctor said "lay them on their back" - Our kids think they were so lucky to survive the poor parenting practices. (You know... All of those incorrect, scandalous methods that were completely wrong, yet somehow still managed to overpopulate the planet). I'm going to give you an entirely different point of view (as a firefighter/medic)... We have had 2 infant deaths in our district, and both were labeled "crib death" or "SIDS". I've watched 12 hard core, smoke eating men bawl. Upon investigation of each, we got almost the same message: "we laid her down at noon, and checked on her because she was being too quiet". (at 10:30PM)... Hmmm.... I then watched 12 smoke eating, bawling men get very angry. Horrible. (incidentally, you will normally only see 2 or three firefighters on a normal EMS call -- But when it comes across as a baby or child - the whole department crawls out of the woodwork). What I'm saying, is that you watch your baby sleep. If your baby throws up a lot, you prop them up a little and lay them on their back. The urp goes down, the baby keeps breathing. If the bed is firm, and the baby is fine? Feel free to lay them on their bellies, but make sure you can hear them breathing. The big thing is to watch how the baby reacts to different scenarios. By 5 or 6 months the baby will be choosing how he or she sleeps and your worries increase for a little while. So it is fine to do however you like... 6.5 billion people were alive in 2006, that had probably all been laid on their bellies at one time or another. The key is just to know your baby, and pay attention.

My little boy was in the N.I.C.U for 2 weeks after being born a month early. He was a stomach baby, he had alot of medical issues and while at the hospital he slept on his belly....which was fine because they had him hooked to machines and monitors but when we got home, he would not sleep on his back....he was on breastmilk and while we tried to put him on his back...he would spit up while he was sleep....we later found out he was lactose intolerant and has gastric reflex. We had a bassinet next to our bed with a really tight fitted sheet....no big blankets! He is now 10 months old and still sleeps on his stomach (well he now rolls all over his crib).

...well If you keep an eye on him he can sleep on his stomache during naps... But at night dont do it.

It is suggested that you lie a baby on it's back...It does not say if you don't your baby will die of SIDS....In fact in the 80's it was suggested that you don't lie them on their backs, but on their stomachs instead....Then in the 90's when my brotehr was born it was on their side....No one really know what causes SIDS, but I suppose you should do what the Dr.'s tell you....We let our son lay on his stomach when napping, but at night he slept on his back.

A lot of the answers above state that doctors now recommend that babies sleep on their backs. I just want to comment that whilst this may be true of US and Australian doctors, it doesn't apply to the whole world. In Latin America, for example, doctors are still recommending that babies sleep on their stomachs.

if they're sleeping on something even remotely soft then theres always that chance that they could suffocate.

When I firts brought my daughter home, I would lay her on the back to sleep and she would roll herself over on her side. I kept watching her out of fear at first. Then I realized she was gonna do it anyway and Id just be up all night rolling her back over so we just bought a good firm mattress and said goodnight love!! She is 10 months today(sleeping the same way)!!

I used to put my kids to sleep on their stomach for naps... and they are all well and alive.

A baby can die on his or her stomach, but they can as well die on their backs. The research that they have done was only based on interviews. The reason new borns die is because of sids wich is when they forget to breath. So it is all up to you just make sure youkeep an eye on your babyor listen for him or her at night. But yes you can have them sleep on thir stomach my 4 month old does and she actually sleeps longer