North Central Health District

This Side Up

Posted February 1, 2016 by NCHD Admin

Georgia has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the country. At least three babies in Georgia die each week due to sleep-related causes which are mostly preventable. The Georgia Children’s Cabinet, the American Academy of Pediatrics – Georgia Chapter, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Georgia Department of Public Health, the Georgia Hospital Association and the Georgia Obstetrical and Gynecological Society are working together to prevent these deaths through a Safe to Sleep initiative.

In 2011, the American Academy of Pediatrics expanded its safe infant sleep recommendations to include not only the infant sleep position, but also the sleep environment. The Safe to Sleep initiative is intended to prevent some of these sleep-related deaths and will educate parents about creating a safe sleep environment for their babies.

Safe to Sleep allows us to put forth an accurate and consistent message that will encourage families to make informed decisions about infant sleep. To accomplish this, we need to ensure that ALL new parents in Georgia not only hear about infant safe sleep and have the resources to support the behavior, but also see the behavior modeled within the hospital. We are asking your hospital to help us by joining this initiative to combat these tragic deaths.

Our united goal is for every Georgia birthing hospital to adopt the Safe to Sleep model using the internal policies and educational programs provided. Please see the enclosed Safe to Sleep Implementation Guide for ways your hospital can support Safe to Sleep in Georgia.

For more information on this initiative please email injury.prevention@dph.ga.gov or call (404) 657-2921. Or, find local information at North Central Health District and by calling your local health department.

Please join us in our effort to ensure that every Georgia baby sleeps safely.