BBC exposes dangerous baby sleep advice from self-described experts

Exhausted new parents were being sold sleep coaching that told them to put babies on their stomachs and place towels or muslin cloths in the cot, advice that conflicts with NHS safer-sleep guidance and can increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome.

The official message is clear: babies should be laid on their backs, on a firm, flat mattress, in their own separate sleep space, for every sleep until 12 months old, or 12 months after their due date for babies born prematurely or with low birthweight. That guidance exists because sleep arrangements that look harmless to desperate parents can become dangerous in minutes.

The deeper problem is a market with weak guardrails. The baby-sleep industry is effectively unregulated, and the title of sleep expert is not protected in the same way as Registered Nurse. In the United Kingdom, falsely claiming to be qualified or registered as a nurse is a criminal offence, yet people can still market themselves as specialists to sleep-deprived families with little obvious scrutiny over what they tell them to do.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the government planned to close that loophole by restricting use of the title nurse unless a person is properly qualified. The move reflects a broader recognition that misinformation is not just a nuisance online; in this corner of consumer health advice, it can shape how people put babies to sleep.

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said it was deeply concerned by reports of unqualified and self-described sleep experts giving inaccurate and dangerous advice to parents and carers of young babies. Children’s health groups have warned that parents facing broken nights are especially vulnerable to paid advice that sounds reassuring but cuts against evidence-based guidance from the NHS and The Lullaby Trust.

The danger has also landed in public view after the inquest into the death of Steve Bruce’s four-month-old grandson, Madison Bruce Smith. A coroner concluded the baby died while asleep in his cot after being placed in an unsafe prone position by someone describing themselves as a maternity nurse, a case that sharpened concern about who is allowed to present themselves as an authority on infant sleep.

Parents paying for sleep coaching now have to ask harder questions than many platforms demand. Is the adviser properly registered? Does the advice match NHS and Lullaby Trust guidance on back-sleeping, a firm mattress and a clear cot? What evidence supports any recommendation that puts a baby on the stomach or adds items to the sleep space? In a lightly policed marketplace, those questions can be the difference between comfort and risk.