• By Tamyra Barringer
• Posted Friday, March 3, 2017

March is Safe Sleep Awareness Month!!

Happy March to all! It's the time of year where the atmosphere is filled with fresh air, flowers, and beautiful weather. What better way to spring into this new season with our little ones than by celebrating safe sleep practices. The Forsyth County Safe Sleep Program has recognized March as Safe Sleep Awareness Month. The Forsyth County Safe Sleep Program strives to educate and promote safe sleep environments among parents and childcare providers and to bring awareness to safe sleep practices to protect our babies from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) - the leading cause of deaths in infants from one month to one year old. Below is a snapshot of trends in SIDS that highlights the importance of engaging in safe sleep practices:

• Placing infants on their stomachs to sleep increases the risk for SIDS by up to 13 times.
• Infants between the ages of 2-4 months are at the highest risk for SIDS, developing a habit of putting the infant to sleep on his or her back is critical during this time.
• Switching sleeping positions during infant’s sleep time increases the chances of SIDS by 18 times!
• Encouraging the infant to have a pacifier while sleeping is protective against SIDS.
• Placing items in the infant's crib, such as blankets, toys, and pillows increases the risk of SIDS.

The Forsyth County Safe Sleep Program says that child care centers should use the ABC’s to put babies down for naptime.

• Alone: Infants should sleep alone. Infants should not share sleeping space with other infants or objects.
• Back: Infants should be placed on their backs when put to sleep, not on their side or stomach.
• Crib: Infants should be placed to sleep in a crib, on a firm mattress with a tight fitted sheet.

To learn more about infant safe sleep initiatives in our community please call 336-703-3260.