You are preparing a teaching tool for new parents. Which information about sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) will you include?

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends placing infants on their back (supine position) for every sleep to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). This is the single most important safe sleep recommendation for new parents and is the foundation of the 'Back to Sleep' and 'Safe to Sleep' campaigns. Placing infants on their back significantly reduces the risk of airway obstruction and rebreathing of carbon dioxide, both of which are associated with SIDS. The other options represent common hazards. Covering the baby with a light quilt is unsafe because soft bedding, including quilts, blankets, and comforters, can cover the infant's face and obstruct breathing; only a firm, flat sleep surface with a fitted sheet is recommended. Using a soft pillow under the head is also dangerous because pillows are a suffocation risk; the sleep surface should be firm and flat without any head support objects. Putting nothing in the baby's mouth during sleep is a somewhat ambiguous choice — pacifier use during sleep is actually associated with reduced SIDS risk, so telling parents to put nothing in the mouth would be inaccurate guidance. The correct and unambiguous recommendation that should be included in a SIDS teaching tool is to always place the baby on the back to sleep.