Newborn Sleep: White Noise, Wake Windows & Self-Soothing – S1 E1

Social media is full of newborn sleep advice - but what if some of the “rules” are actually making life harder for new parents?

In this episode of The Baby Fact Check, Greg Foot - new dad and creator & host of the popular BBC podcast Sliced Bread - is joined by trusted experts to fact check some of the most common pieces of social media parenting advice around newborn sleep:

• “Keep your newborn baby awake more in the day and they will sleep better at night.”
  
  
• “White noise is a cheat code for baby sleep that helps them sleep longer and deeper.”
  
  
• “You should put your baby down drowsy, not asleep, or they’ll never learn to self-soothe.”

With help from Professor Helen Ball (Durham University Sleep Lab and author of How Babies Sleep: A Factful Guide to the First 365 Days and Nights) and Sarah Ockwell-Smith (author of The Gentle Sleep Book), Greg explores why newborn babies sleep the way they do, what parents can stop worrying about, and how to get through the early months with a little more confidence.

If you’ve seen a piece of parenting advice you’d like us to fact check, email us on [email protected]

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The Baby Fact Check is a Science Media Studio production.
Series Producer: Greg Foot
Content Producer: Graihagh Jackson
Video Producer: Adrienn Rusz
Audio Mix: Jonnie Howard
Recorded at: The Raspberry Pi Foundation, with help from Daria Hupov & Peter Simison
Special thanks: Teddy’s mummy, Katrin!