For Immediate Release:
January 28, 2009

Contact:
Office of Public Information
573-751-6062

State Health Department urges parents to avoid sleeping with their babies
Increasing number of infants in Missouri are dying due to unsafe sleep practices

A growing number of babies in Missouri are dying as a result of sleeping with a parent and other unsafe sleep practices.

The state has seen a 46 percent increase in the number of infant deaths caused by these practices that include “bed-sharing” and putting babies to sleep in places that can pose a danger, such as an unsafe crib, a bed or couch.

A sleeping adult can roll over on a baby, causing injury or suffocation, and babies can roll off a bed or couch and injure themselves.

Unsafe sleep practices resulted in the death of 57 infants in Missouri during 2007, compared to 39 deaths in 2006. The deaths due to unsafe sleep practices are reported for infants less than 12 months old.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is urging parents not to sleep with their babies or allow older brothers or sisters to share a bed with their infant siblings. Health officials say infants should always sleep alone in a safe sleeping environment.

“Many times parents think they can better protect their baby when they are sleeping right beside them, but the opposite is true,” said Karen Schenk, Public Health Consultant Nurse for the health department’s Bureau of Genetics and Health Childhood.  “Sharing a bed or sleeping on a couch with your baby puts him or her at great risk for serious injury and death.”

Sleeping on an unsafe surface presents a number of risks for infants. They can get trapped between a bed and the wall or bed frame or between the cushions on a couch, which can block their airway and cause them to stop breathing.

“Healthy babies are dying from accidents that are preventable,” Schenk said. “We urge parents to provide a safe place for their infants to sleep.”

Schenk said babies need to sleep alone in a crib with a firm mattress and a tight-fitting sheet. An alternative for parents who want to sleep closer to their baby is a “co-sleeper,” a small crib-like attachment that fits on the side of a regular bed. A co-sleeper is designed to allow a baby to sleep next to a parent but not in the same bed, reducing the chances of an adult rolling over on an infant.

Additional guidelines from the health department to help keep sleeping babies safe include:

• Keep soft objects, such as pillows and stuffed animals, and loose bedding, including bumper pads and comforters, out of the crib. These items create a suffocation risk for babies.
• Dress babies in a sleeper or sleep sack so a blanket isn’t necessary. If a blanket is used, make sure it is tucked in securely at the foot of the mattress and on the sides and is pulled up only to the level of the baby’s chest. Do not allow babies to get too warm while sleeping.
• Babies should be placed on their backs every time they sleep – at naptime and at night. Research shows that infants who sleep on their backs are less likely to die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

Exposure to tobacco smoke also increases a baby’s chances of dying from SIDS, Schenk said. Women should not smoke while they are pregnant or allow their babies to breathe secondhand smoke..

“Losing a baby is tragic,” Schenk said. “Parents can do a number of things to help prevent this kind of tragedy from happening in their family.”

More information about safe sleep for babies can be found at: www.dhss.mo.gov/SafeSleep/.

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Note: Audio associated with this news release is available at: http://www.dhss.mo.gov/NewsAndPublicNotices/audio/SafeSleepAudio1-27-09.html