The Christian County Health Department is reaching out to the community with information about Safe Sleep practices for infants to cut down on the reports of Sudden Unexplained Infant Death Syndrome.
Maternal Child Health Coordinator Jessica Meredith spoke at a health department Lunch and Learn event at the Housing Authority Tuesday and says SUIDS, also known as SIDS, can be preventable if parents practice safe sleep techniques. She says in the United States, one in seven of infant deaths occur unexpectedly during sleep, and in Kentucky that number is one in five of infant deaths.
Meredith urges parents and guardians to practice the ABC’s of Safe Sleep, which are Alone, Back, Crib and Danger. She says babies should sleep alone in their own cribs, never in the same space as an adult or sibling.
She also warned against letting infants sleep in car seats or bouncy/rocking seats, as they are not a flat surface and contain padding that could suffocate a child.
Infants should only sleep in cribs, which shouldn’t contain any toys, blankets or padding that could fall onto an infant’s face.
Meredith says infants should always laid down to sleep on their backs, not their stomachs, and that if you have to be on any type of medication that makes you drowsy, ask someone you trust to help take care of the infant. For more information about Safe Sleep habits, contact the Christian County Health Department or go online.