Instagram 'Sleep Experts' Are Telling Parents to Do the One Thing That Kills Babies

An explosive BBC investigation has exposed a terrifying reality: unqualified “sleep experts” operating on Instagram and TikTok are actively telling desperate parents to place newborns in positions that dramatically increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Reporters went undercover, posing as exhausted first-time mothers, and booked paid consultations with two high-profile sleep consultants: Alison Scott-Wright (known as the “Magic Sleep Fairy”) and Lisa Clegg. Both have thousands of Instagram followers, celebrity endorsements, and published books. What they discovered was shocking enough to make seasoned medical professionals feel “sick” and “horrified.”

Scott-Wright, during the undercover consultation, explicitly advised placing a newborn to sleep on its front - a practice the NHS explicitly warns against because it significantly increases SIDS risk. The Lullaby Trust, a baby safety charity, confirms that front-sleeping positions and placing soft items like towels and muslins in cots both dramatically elevate the danger of sudden infant death.

One real-life mother, Emily, paid over £500 for a Scott-Wright video consultation. The consultant made medical diagnoses of her baby (cow’s milk protein allergy, reflux, tongue-tie) without ever examining the child. Scott-Wright then recommended stopping breastfeeding, placing the baby on his front to sleep, and medicating for reflux - all while refusing to suggest Emily consult an actual medical professional.

Dozens of parents have come forward reporting similar dangerous advice. One mother said she regretted placing “young babies in danger” by following instructions to stuff cots with multiple loose items. Another described Scott-Wright’s guidance as “really cruel.”

The nightmare scenario: infant-sleep consulting is a completely unregulated industry. Anyone can call themselves a sleep expert or maternity nurse with zero qualifications. Scott-Wright herself admitted to investigators that “there is no qualification that anyone could have for what I do.”

The tragedy that sparked action: Steve Bruce’s four-month-old grandson Madison Smith died in 2022 after being placed prone in an unsafe sleep position by someone claiming to be a maternity nurse. A coroner concluded this positioning caused his death.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has vowed to close this loophole by restricting the term “nurse” to qualified professionals only. The Bruce Smith family is demanding mandatory training for anyone providing paid sleep care for infants.

NHS guidance is crystal clear: babies must sleep on their backs, on firm flat mattresses, in their own sleep space for the first 12 months.