Yet the survey of 1,892 women with babies under six-months-old found that more than half were not following sleep safety advice, and 43 per cent had moved their children out of their own bedrooms so they could get more sleep.
The online poll, which was carried out by the Lullaby Trust and Bounty Parenting Club, found that babies had slept in car seats, bouncers and baby swings.
This is despite 83 per cent of the mums surveyed being mindful that sleeping babies on their backs helped protect them from sudden infant death.
Francine Bates, chief executive of the Lullaby Trust, formerly the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths, said: “Five babies die suddenly every week in England and Wales, with no cause found for their death and their families left shocked and distraught.
“Although we haven’t yet identified a single cause for sudden infant death, we know that there are lots of practical things parents can do to reduce their baby’s risk.
“We need to reach many more parents with the core piece of advice that the safest place of all for a baby to sleep is on their back, in a cot in a room with their parents, both for daytime naps and night-time sleep.
“If we can encourage every parent to follow this crucial recommendation, we can save even more lives.
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