More Than A Crib
October is SIDS Awareness Month. Each year, about 4,000 infants die suddenly and unexpectedly in the U.S. Half of these tragic deaths are due to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Although no one has determined the exact cause of SIDS, it is known that unsafe sleep environments are a contributing factor. MCC began the Cribs for Kids program in 2004 to reduce the number of babies dying in unsafe sleep environments. In Philadelphia between April 2003 and October 2004, 48 babies died in co-sleeping environments.
Over our 10 year history, we’ve distributed more than 20,000 cribs to families in Philadelphia, Delaware and Montgomery counties. In fact, 98% of our clients practice safe sleep by placing their baby on their back to sleep compared to 65% of a comparable group of women across Pennsylvania. While having a crib to lay your baby to sleep in is an important factor in reducing your baby’s risk of dying in an unsafe sleep environment, it’s not the only one. Babies should always be placed to sleep on their back, in an empty crib, in a smoke-free environment.
Additionally careful attention should be paid to the temperature of the baby and the room. You don’t want the baby to get too hot or too cold. “I always ask parents to look at how they go to sleep. You don’t go to sleep in a hat, so your baby doesn’t need a hat to sleep either”, said Kisha Gadsden, Program Manager of our Cribs for Kids program. “It’s simple as ABC.”
