Around 50 infants lose their lives every year in New York City due to risky sleeping conditions, as revealed in The New York Daily News. Because of this, the city's government has taken an initiative on ensuring safety for infants during bedtime.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced that his administration has enforced a "Safe Sleep Campaign" for infants. The city's Children's Services administration, Health Department and hospital facilities reportedly work in coordination with de Blasio in enforcing the campaign.
New York's "Safe Sleep Campaign" team cited the following guidelines in putting infants to sleep for the reference of parents and caregivers:
1. Infants should never go to bed in a couch or bed for adults.
Couches or adult beds are not customized to accommodate an infant's needs during bedtime. Falling off and breathing problems likely occur when babies don't sleep in their cribs.
2. Co-Sleeping with Others is a No-No for Infants
Infants are fragile, thus, caregivers should never risk their safety when co-sleeping. Parents should let their little ones sleep in their cribs alone to avoid bedtime accidents.
3. Infant Cribs Should be Clutter-Free
Infant cribs should not be cluttered with any objects. In other words, cribs must only have one pillow and a tiny comforter. Foreign objects pose threats to your baby's safety unnoticeably during sleep.
4. Infants Should Sleep on Their Backs Only
The danger of sleep suffocation looms for infants who sleep flat on their bellies. To guarantee a sound sleep, parents must ensure their baby sleep on their backs only. Caregivers need to do routine checks on their babies at night to confirm safe sleeping position. Doing this may disturb adults' sleep, but always well worth it to do along the way.
An Infant Sleep Safety Tip from SidsandKids.org:
1. Let Infants Sleep Without Heads and Faces Covered
The risk of suffocation occurs all the more when babies' noses are covered during bedtime.
Mayor de Blasio noted that parents may still see infant sleep safety now the way their own parents saw it in the past, saying, "Many of us are following the lead of our parents and grandparents, who may have put us to sleep in their bed, or maybe they tucked us in with our favorite blanket because that's how things were done back in the day."
Subsequently, the mayor publicly expressed the importance of deviating away from that trend, as reported in another New York Daily News, "But now we know more about child safety, and it is our duty as parents to start new traditions."
