There are preventable measures that you can take to help protect your baby from SIDS and SUID.

 

Many preventable cases of SUID are the result of unsafe sleeping practices such as co-sleeping or bed sharing, an unsafe sleep environment and stomach sleep position.

 

Adults who bed share or co-sleep with a baby increase the infants’ risks of accidental suffocation because the baby can become wedged between the bed and an object, covered by the bedding, or overlaid by an adult or child with whom the bed is shared. Co-sleeping is particularly dangerous if the adult is overly tired, obese, or under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

 

You can provide a safe sleep environment for your baby to prevent suffocation and accidents.

 

Unsafe sleep environments include: any surface that is not designed for an infant, bedding, bumpers or toys in the crib or an unsafe crib or mattress. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends babies always be placed on their backs to sleep unless otherwise instructed by a physician.

 

By promoting a smoke-free, safe-sleeping environment and back to sleep position, we can protect our babies.