October is National Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Awareness Month!
This year, the North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation in collaboration with the NC Division of Public Health, will partner with at least 29 hospitals across North Carolina to distribute safe sleep onesies and information to parents of all babies born in these hospitals in October, as part of the HOPES project.
The purposeof HOPES is to increase the ability for hospitals to implement infant safe sleep policies and practices in their relevant units including pediatrics, newborn nurseries and neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). It builds on the groundwork started by the NCHSF in 2006 and which is funded by the CJ Foundation for SIDS through June 2010. By targeting hospitals in high risk counties and those with a larger minority population, HOPES works to address the SIDS racial disparity. However, the importance of providing correct information and modeling safe behavior cannot be overstated. By providing hospital staff with training, current statistics, new research and hands-on practical experience, they are better informed and more likely to model consistent safe sleep behavior to parents thus increasing the likelihood that parents will continue the behaviors at home. HOPES provides hospital staff with the necessary knowledge and skills.
This outreach promotes safe sleep strategies that reduce the risks of SIDS and accidental suffocation and strangulation in the sleep environment.
Baby models a safe sleep onesie with the message:
"Stomach to Play, Back to Sleep, For Baby's Safe Sleep" Note: for a PDF of the above, click on the photo.
Safe Sleep Onesies Raise Awareness:
Hospitals
Remind hospital staff of how they can role model safe sleep strategies.
Provide a teachable moment for nurses and physicians to share safe sleep strategies with new parents.
New Parents
Onesies and fact sheets inform parents and caregivers of the safest way to put their babies to sleep once they get home.
When parents dress their babies in the safe sleep garments, they are reminded of the Back to Sleep message.
Community
By partnering with hospital public relations departments, local legislators who support SIDS education, and journalists across the state, media coverage of this project promotes baby safe sleep to the public at large.
2009 Hospital Partners
All hospitals that deliver babies in North Carolina were invited to participate in HOPES. In total, the project will place safe sleep information in the hands of more than 6,000 parents. Infant safe sleep trainings will also be held to educate staff in some of the hospitals. Participating hospitals and community-based organizations, as of October 1, 2009 include:
Brunswick Community Hospital
Buncombe County Health Center
Caldwell Memorial Hospital
Cape Fear Valley Medical Center
Chowan Hospital
Cleveland Regional Medical Center
CMC - Northeast
CMC - Pineville
CMC - University
CMC - Main
Grace Hospital - Blue Ridge Health Care
Haywood Regional Medical Center
Healthy Start Corps - Lumberton
High Point Regional Health System
Iredell Memorial Hospital
Lenoir Memorial Hospital
Maria Parham Medical Center
Pitt County Memorial Hospital
Presbyterian Hospital - Charlotte
Rex Healthcare
Robeson County Health Dept.
Rowan Regional Medical Center
Stanly Regional Medical Center
The Birthplace at Gaston Memorial Hospital
Thomasville Medical Center
Wake Med Intensive Care Unit
Wayne Memorial Hospital
Wilson Medical Center
Womack Army Medical Center
For more information about baby’s safe sleep, contact
