Babies and toddlers can choke on the contents of the bottle if left in bed with them. Furthermore, when feeding babies to sleep, milk and juice can pool in the mouth particularly around the back teeth, allowing dental decay to occur. When you routinely settle your baby to sleep with a bottle your baby does not learn to sleep by themselves. An association between feeding and sleeping or settling is also likely to form if your baby wakes and becomes reliant on a feed to go back to sleep each time. We suggest feeding your child when they wake and is hungry, having a play then back to bed when tired to avoid this association with feeding.
Information provided from Protecting Tiny Teeth NSW Health Centre for Oral Health Strategy
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