Women & Infants Launches Newborn Safe To Sleep Campaign
Friday, February 08, 2013
Women & Infants in introducing a new campaign to keep newborns safe from SIDS--Safe To Sleep. Photo: Ginny Washburne/flickr.
Safe to Sleep
Women & Infants Hospital is kicking off its own “Safe to Sleep” model of care and educational campaign. Recognizing that one of the biggest dangers for newborns is loose blankets in the crib that can cover the baby’s face and interfere with breathing, all babies born at Women & Infants Hospital are now being placed in a HALO SleepSack. This wearable blanket, also being used at Care New England’s Kent Hospital, replaces the need for any blankets that a baby may be able to kick off, helping to ensure that baby sleeps safely and comfortably throughout the night.
“We want to be sure that all of our new families are getting off to the healthiest start, right from the very beginning,” said Marcia VanVleet, MD, medical director of the newborn service team at Women & Infants Hospital. “In addition to modeling a safe sleep environment in the hospital, Women & Infants will now giving all of our new parents a Summer Infant swaddle to take home with them – a safe alternative to blankets that keeps baby warm and comfortable.”
Reducing SIDS
“Safe to Sleep” is an expansion of the original “Back to Sleep” campaign, which was named for its recommendation to place healthy babies on their backs to sleep, the most effective action that parents and caregivers can take to reduce the risk of SIDS. According to the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Development, since that campaign started the percentage of infants placed on their backs to sleep has increased dramatically, and the overall SIDS rates have declined by more than 50 percent.
SIDS, the leading cause of death in babies one month to one year of age, is the sudden, unexplained death of a baby younger than one year of age that does not have a known cause even after a complete investigation. Sleep-related causes of death, which are not SIDS, may be linked to how or where a baby sleeps or has slept. They may be due to accidental causes, such as suffocation, entrapment (when a baby gets trapped between two objects, such as a mattress and a wall, and cannot breathe), or strangulation (when something presses on or wraps around baby’s neck, blocking baby’s airway).
Safe to Sleep actions
The American Academy of Pediatrics supports the “Safe to Sleep” actions that parents, grandparents, caregivers and anyone who cares for the baby can take to reduce the risk of SIDS and other sleep-related causes of death, including:
- Babies sleep safest on their backs, every time – for naps and at night time. Babies who are used to sleeping on their backs but who are then placed on their stomach to sleep, like for a nap, are at a very high risk of SIDS.
- Babies should sleep on a hard surface. The risk of SIDS or suffocation is higher when baby sleeps on a soft surface, such as on an adult bed or under a soft blanket or quilt.
- There should be nothing placed in the baby’s crib, including bumpers and stuffed animals.
- Babies should not be dressed too warmly for sleep to avoid overheating – room should be kept at 68 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit.
- No one should smoke around the baby or take the baby into a room where someone has recently been smoking.
For further information about safe sleeping and other information about pregnancy and newborns, visit womenandinfants.org/havingababy. Both Halo and Summer Infant products are also available for sale in Women & Infants’ specialty store, Nursing Moms, Etc.
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