Safe Sleep for Infants
The Mono County Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health (MCAH) Program conducted a community based survey in April 2014 to see if local residents were following the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) safe-sleep recommendations.
Fifty-five percent of the 125 respondents indicated that they have seen or heard of parents or caregivers in Mono County putting an infant (age 0-12 months) at risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) or infant death due to one or more unsafe sleep practices.
As a caregiver, it is important to know the 2011 AAP safe sleep recommendations for babies in their first 12 months of life. Each of the following practices is supported by scientific studies and reduces the risk of SIDS, entrapment, suffocation, and strangulation.
Place a baby on his or her back to sleep: If an infant rolls on his own from his back to another position after being placed to bed, and the infant can roll from front to back and back to front, he can be left in the position he assumed for sleep.
Place a baby to sleep on a firm sleep surface: Infants should sleep in a safety approved crib, bassinet, portable crib or play yard, on a mattress covered with a fitted sheet. If an infant falls to sleep any place that is not a safe sleep environment, such as a couch, swing, car seat, or chair, move her to a firm sleep surface right away.
Keep soft objects and loose bedding out of the crib: a wearable blanket can be used to keep an infant warm.
Place a baby to sleep in the same room where you sleep, but not the same bed.
Do not let a baby get too hot: Keep the room where an infant sleeps well ventilated and at a comfortable temperature. The infant should be dressed in one more layer than an adult would wear. The head should not be covered.
Pacifier use reduces the risk of SIDS.
Breastfeeding an infant has been shown to protect against SIDS.
Do not allow smoking near a baby: Smoke in the air, clothes, carpet, furniture, and/or car increases the risk of SIDS.
Recent evidence has shown that immunizations protect against SIDS.
Do not use monitors or devices that claim to reduce the risk of SIDS: Home monitors and products such as wedges, special mattresses, and positioners have not been shown to reduce the risk of SIDS and in some cases, have caused suffocation.
For more information, call Mono County Health @ 760.924.1830.
