Safer Sleep Week 16 – 23 March

16 March, 2015

Experts from City Health Care Partnership CIC and East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s public health team are reminding parents to think about where their babies are sleeping, ahead of Safer Sleep Week, which runs from 16 to 23 March.

Safer Sleep Week is the first national campaign from the Lullaby Trust to raise awareness of safer sleep messages. Lullaby Trust provides specialist support for bereaved families and anyone affected by sudden infant death.

CHCP CIC and East Riding Council are part of the East Riding and Hull safe sleeping steering group, which is advising parents that the safest place for their baby to sleep is a crib or cot in a room with them for the first six months.

Advice to parents is that they should:

never sleep on a sofa or in an armchair with their baby
not sleep in the same bed as their baby if they smoke, drink, take drugs or are extremely tired, or if the baby was premature or of low birth weight
avoid letting the baby get too hot
not cover the baby’s face or head while sleeping, nor use loose bedding.

Councillor Jonathan Owen, chairman of the East Riding health and wellbeing board, said, “Parents are also reminded to take a second look at their baby’s sleeping arrangements whenever something changes, for example when a relative or babysitter is putting baby to bed, or when staying away from home.

“Health visitors, midwives or children’s centre workers can give parents information and discuss any concerns they may have.”

Debbie Jackson, infant feeding co-ordinator for CHCP CIC, said that breastfeeding can also play a big part in protecting babies from sudden infant death. “Studies have shown that breastfeeding is beneficial for babies and for mothers in lots of way, but that its role in preventing sudden infant death is particularly important. We will be having stands at health visiting clinics next week to highlight tell parents about the Safer Sleep campaign and to stress the role of breastfeeding in keeping babies safe while they sleep.”

The infant sleep information service www.isisonline.org.uk/about/ is a valuable source of information, with a free infant sleep app for parents that includes a bed-sharing decision tool guide. It also and explains when bed-sharing may be inadvisable and why.

For more information on safer sleeping, visit the Lullaby Trust website at www.lullabytrust.org.uk.

To find out more about CHCP CIC’s infant feeding service, go to www.chcpchildservices.org.uk/pages/infant-feeding-co-ordinator