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Public health education commonly favours the 'single, simple, message' approach for delivery of key campaigns. This may be inappropriate where issues are complex, or individual circumstances necessitate more tailored information. We addressed the issue of infant safe sleep education, particularly with regard to parent-infant bed-sharing and risk of SIDS and accidental death--a topic which has often been the focus of single-message campaigns. The aim was to evaluate whether a more complex message would be understood and remembered by mothers. A leaflet-based tool was designed which addressed common infant sleep locations, with information on their risks and benefits. Novel components involved the inclusion of information regarding bed-sharing benefits, and a checklist that parents could use to assess their own risk. We found that the leaflet, when delivered by appropriately trained staff, is effective for enabling discussions with pregnant women that increase their knowledge surrounding the risks and benefits of infant sleep locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]