The Infant Safe Sleeping Campaign endorses the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) prevention recommendations. SIDS is the sudden death of an infant under one year of age which remains unexplained after a thorough case investigation, including performance of a complete autopsy, examination of the death scene, and review of the medical history of the infant and family. In 1992, the AAP recommended changing an infant’s sleep position from stomach to back to reduce their risk of SIDS. In 1994, the national campaign promoting “Back to Sleep” was launched, and in 1995, California launched a statewide risk reduction campaign including “Back to Sleep.” Between 1992 and 1998, SIDS rates in California declined 47 percent. In 2005 and 2011, the AAP updated the “Back to Sleep” recommendations to further define a safe sleeping environment.
Over the past three years in Los Angeles County, more than 200 infants under the age of 1 have died as a result of unsafe sleeping practices. Last year alone, of all preventable infant deaths, 50 percent were attributed to unsafe sleeping practices: being accidentally smothered by co-sleeping parents or suffocated by excess stuffed toys and blankets in the sleeping area.
The Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect (ICAN) Associates has partnered with First 5 LA for a two-year Infant Safe Sleeping campaign to save families from the preventable tragedy of losing their infants due to unsafe sleeping practices.
The goal of this partnership is to create a campaign that raises awareness of best practices for residents of Los Angeles County through compelling messages about the dangers of unsafe sleeping practices and offer safe sleep solutions for caregivers of infants up to 1 year of age.
To learn more about these safe sleeping practices visit ican4kids.org.