Lancashire Teaching Hospitals have joined forces with agencies across Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool and Lancashire for Safer Sleep Week 2026 - Monday 9 to Sunday 15 March - to raise awareness of the lifesaving steps families can take to protect babies while they sleep.

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This year’s theme, “Baby Necessities,” focuses on the essential items every baby needs for safe sleep - and how parents and carers can confidently check that products meet safer sleep standards.

Safer Sleep Week is led nationally by The Lullaby Trust, which highlights the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) - still claiming the lives of around three babies every week in the UK. The campaign aims to empower families and professionals with clear, practical guidance to reduce risk and keep babies safe.

placeholder image — Safer Sleep Week 2026

Local partners - including the NHS, regional councils, Lancashire Constabulary, and children’s safeguarding teams - will share safer sleep messages across social media using #LSCSaferSleepWeek. These messages will guide families through the basics of safe sleep, including:

Providing a clear, flat, separate sleep space for baby, such as a cot or Moses basket.
Always placing babies on their backs with their feet to the foot of the sleep space.
Keeping babies smoke-free during pregnancy and after birth.
Ensuring babies do not overheat, with rooms kept between 16–20°C.
Avoiding falling asleep with baby on sofas or chairs, which increases risk by 50%

Burnley midfielder Josh Laurent helped make a brief video outlining the messages here.

Josh, who has two goals in 29 appearances for the Clarets this season, is a father of two girls, aged seven and two.

Families will also receive support to help them navigate baby products safely - from choosing mattresses and bedding to understanding which items to avoid, and how to spot unhelpful or misleading product claims.

A wide range of resources, posters and toolkits have been made available to support midwives, health visitors, GPs, social workers and wider frontline teams, and professionals are encouraged to complete a Safer Sleep Assessment at every appropriate contact and signpost families to reliable resources, including:

The Six Steps to Safer Sleep
Baby sleep pattern posters
True/false safer sleep learning cards
The safer sleep toolkit and media guidelines
A dedicated Safer Sleep webinar for multidisciplinary staff

These resources aim to ensure every family receives consistent, evidence-based advice, whether at home, in clinics, or during routine visits.

Findings from the 2025 Safer Sleep Audit continue to reinforce the need for widespread awareness. The audit highlights key risk factors seen across local cases - including co-sleeping, parental substance use, and the absence of safer sleep materials in homes - underscoring the critical importance of this year’s campaign.

By coming together during Safer Sleep Week, Lancashire’s services, families and communities are taking collective action to reduce preventable infant deaths and ensure that every baby has the safest possible start in life.

For safer sleep guidance, visit:

The Lullaby Trust: www.lullabytrust.org.uk

Lancashire Safeguarding Partnership: https://lancashiresafeguardingpartnership.org.uk