Safest Sleep Position for Babies With Acid Reflux

The safest sleep position for a baby with acid reflux is flat on their back, for naps and at night, unless your baby’s clinician gives you a specific medical instruction otherwise. Back sleeping remains the recommendation even if your baby spits up, because healthy babies have reflexes that help protect their airway.

Place your baby in their own crib, bassinet, or play yard with a firm, flat mattress and a fitted sheet, and keep pillows, loose blankets, wedges, and positioners out of the sleep space. It may seem as though raising the head of the mattress or letting your baby sleep in a swing or car seat would help reflux, but inclined sleep can let a baby slide into a position that makes breathing harder.

Check the product’s listed specifications when evaluating keep the sleep surface flat and clear.

If spit-up is making sleep routines difficult, try burping your baby during feeds and holding them upright in your arms for about 20 to 30 minutes afterward while you are awake and watching them. When it is time to sleep, put your baby back on a flat surface on their back rather than propping them up; our Baby Reflux Relief Checklist can help you keep feeding, sleep, and comfort concerns organized for a conversation with your pediatrician.

If your baby can roll both ways independently, continue placing them on their back at the start of each sleep, but you generally do not need to turn them back after they roll themselves. Talk with your pediatrician if reflux seems painful, feeding is difficult, or your baby is not gaining weight as expected, and seek urgent medical care for breathing trouble, blue coloring, or green or bloody vomit.

Check the product’s listed specifications when evaluating know when to ask for individual advice.