Preventing heartbreak: How safe sleeping practices can save infant lives

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Health and safety officials are warning parents and caregivers about the dangers of co-sleeping.

According to the CDC, about 3,500 babies die each year in the United States in sleep-related incidents. Sudden infant death syndrome and accidental suffocation are among the causes of death for infants who are not put in a safe sleeping situation.

“When you’re putting your baby to sleep for a nap or at bedtime, it is okay to share your room but you don’t want to share your bed,” New Hanover County Health Educator Matthew McVey said.

Part of New Hanover County’s Early Childhood Care Management Program includes teaching parents and caregivers the safest way to put their children to sleep.

“You want to make sure you place them and on a firm sleeping surface. That can be something like a safety approved crib or pack-n-play,” McVey said. “Wherever you place them, you want to make sure there’s no other items in that sleeping place that they might be able to get entangled with.”

While thousands of infants die across the country in sleep-related incidents each year, Wilmington Police Lieutenant Greg Willett says the agency has responded to at least three co-sleeping related deaths in the last few months.

“It’s very tragic, it’s traumatic to everybody involved. Obviously the parent, the families. It’s traumatic to responders. It’s something that can be easily prevented,” Willett said.

By following safe sleeping practices, Willett says families and first responders can avoid unnecessary tragedies.

“Anything involving children is tougher,” Willett said. “A lot of us are parents, so anything involving children can be very difficult to deal with, especially an infant. It can be very traumatic. Like I said earlier, it’s very traumatic for the parent. Nothing takes away from that.”

For more information on safe sleeping practices, visit here.