• The sleep surface should be firm, ideally a firm crib mattress, covered by a sheet.  Soft materials, pillows, quilts, comforters, or sheepskins should not be placed under a sleeping infant.  Soft objects, such as pillows, quilts, comforters, sheepskins, stuffed toys, and loose bedding, should be removed from the crib.  If bumper pads are used, they should be thin, firm, well secured, and not "pillow-like."  Loose blankets and sheets may be hazardous.  If blankets are used, they should be tucked in around the mattress to avoid having the infant's face covered by bedding.  One strategy is to allow the infant's feet to reach the foot of the crib with the blankets tucked in around the mattress and reaching only to chest level.  Another strategy is to use sleep clothing or infant sleep sacks with no bedding over the infant to avoid head covering.
• Do not smoke during pregnancy, because this is a major risk factor in almost every epidemiologic study of SIDS.  Smoke in the infant's environment after birth may also be hazardous, but the risk is less clear.  However, numerous reasons in addition to SIDS risk warrant avoiding exposure to second-hand smoke.
• The infant should sleep separately from the parents, but nearby.  Having the infant sleeping in the same room as the mother reduces the risk of SIDS.  The crib, bassinet or cradle should conform to the safety standards of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and ASTM (formerly the American Society for Testing and Materials).  Although "co-sleepers," or infant beds that attach to the mother's bed, provide easy access for the mother to the infant, especially for breast-feeding, safety standards for these devices have not yet been established.  Because bedsharing is more hazardous than the infant sleeping on a separate sleep surface, the guidelines recommend that infants brought into bed for nursing or comforting should be returned to their own crib or bassinet when the parent is ready to return to sleep.  The statement also warns against bedsharing with other children, bringing the infant into the parent's bed when the parent is excessively tired or using medications, and sleeping with an infant on a couch or armchair.
• Consider offering a pacifier at naptime and bedtime because pacifier use during sleep is associated with a reduced risk of SIDS.  The evidence that pacifier use inhibits breast-feeding or causes later dental complications is not compelling.  During the first year of life, the pacifier should be used when placing the infant down for sleep and not be reinserted once the infant falls asleep.  If the infant refuses the pacifier, he or she should not be forced to take it.  The pacifier should not be coated in any sweet solution and it should be cleaned often and replaced regularly.  For breast-fed infants, pacifier introduction should be delayed until one month of age.
• Avoid overheating the infant, using light clothes and a bedroom temperature comfortable for a lightly clothed adult.
• Avoid commercial devices claiming to reduce SIDS risk because none have been tested sufficiently to show efficacy or safety.
• Home monitors should not be used as a strategy to reduce the risk of SIDS, except for selected infants with extreme cardiorespiratory instability.
• Avoid development of positional plagiocephaly (flat head) by encouraging "tummy time" when the infant is awake and observed, reducing time in car seat carriers and "bouncers", encouraging upright "cuddle time," and altering the head position during sleep.

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