iStock/ThinkstockBy DR. JENNIFER ASHTON, ABC News Senior Medical Contributor

The human touch could be life saving for an infant.

Skin to skin contact immediately after birth can lower a child’s risk for sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS. The American Academy of Pediatrics says not only does it independently lower the risk of SIDS, it also facilitates breastfeeding, which is another protective factor.  

The group’s new recommendations also emphasize traditional safe sleep practices, including placing an infant on its back on a separate surface from parents and not crowding the crib with stuffed animals, padding or blankets.

The recommendations for skin to skin contact can be done my mom and dad, and the sleeping recommendations also suggest babies sleep in the same room as parents but in their own crib, not in the grown-ups’ bed.

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