Safe Sleeping to Save Infant Lives

An infant death serves as a new parent’s worst nightmare. And at least 140 babies in Los Angeles County have died in the past two years due to unsafe sleeping practices, according to county supervisors.

Others have died or been disabled due to Shaken Baby Syndrome (which happens when a newborn is forcefully shaken.)

But supervisors Mark Ridley-Thomas and Don Knabe, who represents Hermosa Beach in the Fourth District, agreed Tuesday to develop a two-year pilot program at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center to educate parents and hospital workers about safe sleeping practices and the proper handling of infants to avoid such fatal risks.

About 900 live births occurred at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in the Los Angeles region last year.

The pilot program mirrors a similar project in Baltimore, which resulted in a decrease in the area’s rate of sleep-related deaths among infants, Knabe said in a statement.

"Infant deaths resulting from unsafe sleeping practices or Shaken Baby Syndrome are a preventable tragedy," Knabe said. "It is important that we educate parents on how to safely care for their newborn before they take their infants home from the hospital."

The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended placing a baby on his or her back to reduce the risk of sleep-related deaths or injuries.

Here are some other tips from the academy:

• Place your baby in a safety-approved crib with a firm mattress and fitted sheet.
• Never put your baby to sleep on a chair, sofa, water bed, cushion, or sheepskin.
• A baby should sleep in the room where you sleep, but not in your bed.
• Place your baby's crib or bassinet near your bed.
• If bumper pads are used in a crib, they should be thin, firm, well secured, and not "pillow-like."
• Blankets in the crib should be tucked in around the mattress and should not reach any higher than your baby's chest.
• Pillows, quilts, comforters, sheepskins, and stuffed toys should be left out of your baby's crib because they can cover your infant's face while sleeping.
• Make sure your baby doesn't get too warm while sleeping.

Do you have any other tips to help ensure a baby sleeps safely? And has infant death been a worry for you as a new parent?