October is Safe Sleep Awareness Month

No family should experience the inconceivable pain of waking up to the loss of their child. Yet approximately 3,600 babies die in their sleep every year. This October, in recognition of SIDS Awareness Month, we’re sharing new resources and collating relevant stories to help health professionals, community advocates, and families ensure every baby has a safe night’s sleep.

New Interactive Safe Sleep Resource All families want what’s best for their babies. That’s why it’s vital that health professionals talk to families about recommended practices and empower all caregivers as safe sleep champions. This new interactive E-handout supports those conversations. Health professionals can sit with families and click through the pages where they’ll find different sleep scenes and environments. A series of prompts and pop-ups help users learn about what’s safe and inspire learning conversations. Families can also access the handout at home and use it to teach their friends and families about safe sleep.

Ideas that Resist Inequities Black babies and American Indian/Alaskan Native babies die from sleep-related deaths at more than twice the rate of white babies. These glaring inequities are rooted in systemic barriers caused by structural racism. Here, we share nine promising practices for change from innovative community programs, grassroots initiatives, and state and national campaigns.

Know that Knowledge is Power Every new person who learns about safe infant sleep is one more person who can promote safe sleep guidelines. Help build collective knowledge across the country by sharing safe sleep information all month on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Not sure where to start? Our SIDS Awareness Month social media toolkit includes sample posts and graphics for your use.

Remember to Move Beyond the Numbers Safe sleep statistics represent real babies and real losses. Here, Brittanie Weaver talks about the loss of her son to raise awareness about sudden unexpected infant deaths so that other families won’t experience what her family went through.

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