Missouri Recognizes Safe Sleep Month: A Call to Prevent Infant Sleep-Related Deaths

JEFFERSON CITY, MO - Every year, the Missouri acknowledges October as Safe Sleep Month. The goal of Safe Sleep Month is to bring awareness to the infant lives that are lost each year due to unsafe sleeping environments.

DSS strives to educate parents and caregivers about safe sleep practices. With the ever-evolving research and data around Sudden Infant Death Syndrome we now know that infant sleep-related deaths are largely due to suffocation and are often preventable.

According to the most recent annual report from the Child Fatality Review Program there were 103 infant deaths marked as sleep-related throughout the state in 2022. Eight of the 103 infants who died from unsafe sleep were being watched by someone other than their parent. While this isn't a large number of the total deaths, it is critical to note that all caregivers need to be informed of safe sleep recommendations and adhere to them.

"It is no secret that infant death is always difficult and tragic, but it is certainly more devastating when it happens in a situation that could have been easily prevented," said Robert Knodell, Director of the Department of Social Services. "We hope that by bringing awareness to Safe Sleep Month more caregivers and parents become informed on the best ways to ensure their child's safety."

The 2022 annual report also states that 74% of all infants who died from non-medical causes were related to the infant's sleep environment. It continues, "Another way to look at it, is that we are losing one infant every four days to deaths that could have been easily prevented."

Furthermore, the majority of all sleep-related infant deaths were known to have occurred while the infant was sleeping in an adult bed. Sleep-related infant death is the leading preventable cause of infant mortality from one month to one year of age in Missouri; it is crucial that we inform and educate both parents and caregivers alike on the importance of safe sleep and resources available to help achieve that.

There are many resources available in Missouri to support new families and caregivers. One program, The Safe Cribs for Missouri Program, administered through the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, is a vital solution for families with no means to obtain a crib. Other great resources available to support caregivers and parents can be found at safesleep.mo.gov/resources.

What can be done to prevent infant mortality from sleep-related causes?

Parents and caregivers can learn and practice the "ABCs of Safe Sleep." The Safe Sleep Missouri website notes, "Babies sleep safest Alone, on their Backs, in a Crib for nighttime, nap time and every time." It is also recommended by the American Association of Pediatrics that caregivers never smoke around their infant or in their infant's sleeping area.

With stuffed animals, blankets, or crib bumpers present in the sleeping area, infants are more likely to suffocate if the item should cover their mouth or nose, as they are unable to easily move their head and neck. All that should be present in the baby's sleeping environment is a pacifier and a mattress covered by a tightly fitted sheet.

Infants should be placed on their backs to prevent asphyxiation. Leading evidence shows that if a baby were to spit up during their sleep, sleeping on their backs prevents the spit up from entering their airways, and if it does, allows them to cough it out. When a baby is placed on their stomach or side to sleep, the airway can be blocked and the child could aspirate.

Additionally, infants should sleep in their own crib or bassinet. The majority of the infant unsafe-sleep fatalities were a result of sleeping in an adult bed. Adult beds are often made with pillow-top or plush sleeping surfaces that are too soft for infants and can cause suffocation. Additionally, car seats and playtime seats like bouncers or swings are not safe for infant sleep as a baby's head can fall forward and obstruct their airway.

Partner with Us

The Safe Sleep Coalition has released a Safe Sleep Month Public Awareness toolkit in an effort to make it easier to educate and inform the public of the importance of infant safe sleep.

If you are a parent or caregiver and want to know more about how you can provide a safer sleeping environment for the infant in your life, visit safesleep.mo.gov/about-safe-sleep.

If you are a health care provider or licensed professional, learn how you can help educate families on this life-saving information at safesleep.mo.gov/training.

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