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It´s summertime now where we live, and it can be pretty hot (30 degrees Celsius or 86 Fahrenheit). So we put our daughter of 5 month to sleep on her back without blanket or sleep sack.

However, she sometimes turn on her tummy in her sleep. Is that a concern ? Should we turn her back on her back ? Should we put a light blanket to prevent her from turning while sleeping ?

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The main thing is to keep them cool if you can and adding blankets is definitely not a good idea as heat is a bigger contributor to SIDS than sleeping position (and last time I checked the advice on position was heavily based on evidence of correlation rather than causation.)

once your baby is about five months old she will learn to roll over as part of her normal development. By this time the risk of SIDS is lower, and it's safe to let your baby find her own comfortable sleeping position. By then she can turn her face to the side when sleeping on her stomach, which keeps her mouth and nose free.

http://www.babycentre.co.uk/x543064/my-baby-turns-onto-her-front-to-sleep-is-this-safe

Personally, both our daughters would only sleep on their tummies - no amount of just letting them cry it out worked as they just got really distressed and any attempt to turn them once they were asleep resulted in them waking up (and being very cross about it) the only exception was in the car (of course!)

James Snell
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    I mostly agree with this answer, but I would disagree strongly with turning the child. Once she's able to turn, let her find her comfortable position and don't bother her. Otherwise agree with the rest - don't overwarm her, and make sure the mattress is a firmer mattress. – Joe Jul 21 '14 at 17:28
  • In regards to coverings - note that in some countries (Denmark) people use blankets and baby comforters a lot, and are not discouraged to do so. (this is different from heat though - it is also recommended to keep the baby's room cooler if you use a comforter). – Ida Jul 21 '14 at 17:52
  • @Ida - we do in the uk too but it's not (usually) 30degrees C here. – James Snell Jul 21 '14 at 17:53
  • @Joe - personally I wouldn't turn them either but that is the recommendation of SIDS researchers. – James Snell Jul 21 '14 at 17:56
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    @JamesSnell I've never heard that as a recommendation (to turn an already asleep baby who turned on his/her own). If so please provide citation (from a real researcher). – Joe Jul 21 '14 at 18:08
  • @Joe - you'll have to take that up with babycentre's panel of experts, not me. :) – James Snell Jul 21 '14 at 19:00
  • Well, it's up to you to include it in the answer or not (and you should > quote it if you're intending to to be a quote), but I can't agree with upvoting the answer with that suggestion. Both the AAP and the US HHS say not to turn the baby over (in the link to the duplicate question, above). – Joe Jul 21 '14 at 19:01
  • Fair point, paragraph snipped. :) – James Snell Jul 22 '14 at 07:06