Calls for Regulation of Infant-Sleep Industry
The UK's leading baby-safety charity, The Lullaby Trust, alongside Liberal Democrat MP Tom Morrison, have written to Health Secretary Wes Streeting urging "urgent action" to regulate the infant-sleep industry following a BBC investigation.
In their letter, they request that Streeting "ensure that no more babies' lives are put at risk due to unregulated and bogus sleep advice".
Last week, an undercover BBC report exposed how some self-described sleep experts have been providing new parents with advice that contradicts established NHS safer sleep guidelines.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting stated that "dangerous misinformation dressed up as expert advice... must stop" and emphasized that parents should "only rely on trusted, evidence-based information" such as that found on the NHS Best Start in Life website.
In March, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) announced plans to amend legislation to restrict who can legally use the title "nurse". This change means individuals working hands-on as night nannies will no longer be permitted to operate under the title "maternity nurse".
An inquest into the death of football manager Steve Bruce's four-month-old grandson, Madison Bruce Smith, found that Madison died after being placed to sleep on his front by someone identifying as a maternity nurse.
Despite this, many—including the Bruce Smith family—are advocating for further changes by the DHSC and urgent regulation of anyone working with infants.
Currently, there is no formal oversight or regulation of the infant-sleep industry; anyone can claim to be a baby-sleep expert or consultant regardless of qualifications or experience.
This lack of regulation allows individuals to provide advice to parents that may increase the risk of harm to babies, including Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), without accountability.
In their first statement since the inquest, Madison Bruce Smith's family told the BBC:
"No parent should ever have to question whether the person they have trusted to care for their baby is truly qualified.
Clear standards and accountability are essential, because so many children's lives depend on it."
The family advocates for "all paid care for babies and infants" to be "properly regulated with mandatory training and strict adherence to national safer-sleep guidelines".
MP Tom Morrison echoed these demands for broader and stricter regulation in his letter to Streeting, stating:
"I must ask what more can be done to legislate to prevent life-threatening advice being given to parents, when they are searching for help and support in the often vulnerable and difficult beginnings of parenthood."
The letter from Morrison and The Lullaby Trust highlights that "following an alarming BBC investigation... it is clear that government regulation is urgently needed to stop individuals from giving parents sleep advice that is contrary to established NHS and real expert guidance."
'The Vulnerability of New Parents'
Through covert filming, the BBC investigation revealed two prominent figures in the infant-sleep sector providing advice that medical professionals warn could place babies at serious risk of harm or death.
Both self-described experts have published books, received celebrity endorsements, and have tens of thousands of social media followers. Their publisher, Penguin, has not responded to multiple BBC requests for comment.
The findings caused NHS clinicians to feel "sick" and "horrified".
Calls for regulation are supported by medical professionals, researchers, and families whose babies died after being placed in unsafe sleeping positions by individuals providing infant care.
The Lullaby Trust states that "anyone advising families on infant sleep, or placing babies to sleep, should be held to clear standards for the guidance they provide. At a minimum this should follow NHS advice in the absence of a medical qualification."
During the investigation, families shared experiences of poor care from self-described baby-sleep experts or consultants and noted the absence of any official body to report concerns.
First-time mother Emily Aston, who used a self-described sleep expert when her son was four months old, said she did not know where to turn when the advice she received conflicted with safer sleep guidelines.
"It just felt like she needed to be stopped and there's nothing out there to report her behaviour to,"Emily said.
Emily emphasized that the "vulnerability" of new parents using such services is the main reason regulation is necessary.
NHS midwife and certified lactation consultant Olivia Hinge, who reviewed the undercover consultations, explained why support from sleep advisors can be appealing to new mothers.
"What they're doing is what you often don't get on the NHS... somebody sitting and listening and talking about the feeding alongside the sleeping,"Hinge said.
"It feels like somebody's really taking the time to know them and their baby."
However, she cautioned that the lack of NHS support should not be replaced by unsafe advice or by individuals operating beyond their qualifications.
"Children are the most vulnerable people in our society and we have a duty to protect them... We need some form of regulation and consistent public health messages have to be upheld,"Hinge added.
In his letter, Morrison also referenced the case of Genevieve Meehan, a nine-month-old baby who suffocated at her nursery after being tightly swaddled, strapped to a beanbag, and left unattended for 90 minutes.
Her parents, Katie Wheeler and John Meehan, founded Campaign for Gigi to advocate for stronger safeguards in early years care.
Last month, the Department for Education published updated safer-sleep guidance for early-years providers in collaboration with The Lullaby Trust. This guidance will become statutory from September 2026, a development credited to Wheeler and Meehan's campaigning efforts.
However, Morrison described the regulation of safer-sleep advice as a "time-critical mission."
"Although the government is cracking down on the improper use of the title nurse, it'll do absolutely nothing if someone can just change their title to 'sleep consultant' and continue giving bogus advice the next day,"Morrison said.
"It terrifies me, as a father of a young one myself, that people are out there claiming to be experts when they are not."
Health Secretary Wes Streeting added:
"It should go without saying, that when someone calls themself a nurse, they actually are one.
We are taking decisive action to crack down on unqualified individuals masquerading as professionals, making it a criminal offence to misuse the title 'nurse'."
If you have been affected by the issues raised in this story, please contact the BBC team at: ParentingInvestigation@bbc.co.uk.
Information and support for child bereavement are available through BBC Action Line.
