Using the ABCs to Keep Baby Safe
UF providers take part in initiative to reduce infant mortality through safe sleep education.
The thought of bringing your baby home from the hospital, swaddled carefully, and ready to make precious memories is something every new parent looks forward to experiencing. Unfortunately, the trauma of an early infant death is an unfortunate reality for many in Duval County. From 2014 to 2018, 35% of preventable child deaths were infants who died due to unsafe sleeping environments.
This rate is equivalent to nearly three infant deaths per month and represents the highest in the state of Florida by population. Many cases of early infant death can be contributed to co-sleeping in the same bed.
University of Florida providers are part of a coalition hoping to turn the tide on these statistics by participating in a new safe sleep education initiative.
“We are committed to working alongside our partners at the Florida Department of Health, the Florida Department of Children and Families and various other local health and community agencies to spearhead this effort for the entirety of 2020,” said Randell Alexander, MD, PhD, chief of the division of child protection and forensic pediatrics at the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville. “Our goal with this initiative is saturation — we have enough supplies to hand out 15,000 safe sleep bags over the next year to every family with a newborn in Duval County.”
The coalition provides bags focused on the ABCs of safe sleep environments to the nine birthing hospitals in the county.
The coalition will be distributing bags focused on the ABCs of safe sleep environments for infants to the nine birthing hospitals in the county, which includes UF Health Jacksonville and UF Health North. The bags contain educational materials and supplies to assist families in providing and maintaining safe sleeping arrangements for their baby. Materials are available in English and Spanish as well.
The ABCs of safe sleep include: A-Alone, B-Back and C-Crib as a reminder that babies should sleep alone on their backs and in their own cribs. What makes co-sleeping with a baby so dangerous is that exhausted parents can often fall asleep in a position that suffocates their baby. Parents desiring to bond with their infant can achieve it through cradling them when they are awake and alert and by keeping the crib in the same room.
After demonstrating promising results in Pinellas County, the Florida Department of Health selected Duval County to adopt the safe sleep initiative to see if similar improvements could be replicated. The department provided funding for the bags and supplies — enough to ensure all newborns could go home with a bag for the one year duration of the project.
Randell Alexander, MD, PhD, is chief of the division of child protection and forensic pediatrics at the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville.
The Department of Children and Families in Duval County stores the supplies, and Vicki Whitfield, a coordinator with the UF division of child protection and forensic pediatrics, coordinates all volunteers in the stuffing and delivery of bags to the hospitals and community partners involved.
Whitfield has led training sessions for each of the hospitals to educate staff on how to talk with families and hand out supplies. All nine birthing hospitals are regularly supplied with the bags and can request more based on need.
Whitfield says the motto is to “share a room, not a bed.” She urges all new parents to tend to their baby while they are alert and to avoid laying down with their baby while drowsy. Additional ways to avoid suffocation risk for infants include getting up and moving to a new chair while feeding, holding the baby while walking around the house and never placing babies on their stomachs.
Residents and businesses who are interested in volunteering to help stuff the supply bags may take part in various volunteer opportunities. Contact the division office by calling 904.633.0300 and leaving a message with your call back information.
“The majority of deaths we see related to unsafe sleeping environments are preventable, and we want the entire community to be informed and involved,” Alexander said.
