Campaign to promote crib use
Susan FitzGerald Inquirer Staff Writer

Philadelphia Inquirer
Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA)
October 13, 2004
Campaign to promote crib use

City officials want to alert parents to the dangers of having an infant share a bed with someone else.

In an accounting of sudden infant deaths, the Philadelphia Health Department found that 48 infants died over the last 18 months while sleeping with adults or siblings.
           In eight of the 48 deaths, the babies died when someone rolled on top of them. City health officials said they have no reason to think that "co-sleeping" deaths are on the rise. Still, the city launched a public-education campaign yesterday to urge parents to put their infants to sleep in cribs.
"The safest place for an infant to sleep is alone in a crib, on his or her back, in an uncluttered environment," Health Commissioner John Domzalski said at a City Hall news conference.
City officials said that of 71 infant deaths since April 2003 that were classified as sudden unexplained infant deaths or hypoxia (an oxygen deficiency) or are still under investigation, 48 of the babies were in a co-sleeping situation. Of the eight deaths caused by overlaying, when s! omeone rolled over on the baby, five occurred on a sofa, two in a crib, and one in a bed.
           "We're not here to tell families how to raise their children, but rather to educate families on how to protect their children," Human Services Commissioner Cheryl Ransom-Garner said. She unveiled an ad that the city will use to alert parents.
"For you to rest easy, your baby must rest alone," the ad reads; it features a baby sleeping in a crib. The city will also use radio and TV announcements, and will work through city agencies and community groups to spread the message.
           Some parents like to sleep with their children because they believe it promotes bonding and sound sleep. Also, some mothers who are breast-feeding find it convenient to have the baby close at hand. In families too poor to buy a crib, an adult's bed or that of another child may be the only place to sleep. Naomi Post, Mayor Street's wife and a child advocate, said at the news conferen! ce that in many cultures, including African American, Hispanic and Asi an communities, "co-sleeping is a time-honored practice."
           "But for the health and safety of our children, it is a practice that has to end," said Post, who cochairs the Mayor's Commission on Children.
The city's campaign aligns with the American Academy of Pediatrics' recommendation that babies be put to sleep on their backs in cribs. Rates of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) declined significantly in the United States over the last decade as more parents began to place their babies on their backs instead of their bellies.
 Adult beds can be hazardous for babies in several ways. Besides being suffocated by someone rolling on top of them, babies can get their heads trapped between the mattress and headboard or wall. They can also be smothered by soft bedding, blankets or pillows. Babies can also get hurt or die falling out of bed.
 The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission, which collects data from medical examiners' offices and emergency roo! ms, reviewed reports from 1999 to 2001 of 180 deaths of children under age 2 who were sleeping in adult beds, and found that nearly all the deaths involved suffocation or some other form of asphyxiation. Fifty-eight of the deaths were due to overlaying of the child by another person in the bed.
 City health officials said they were able to quantify co-sleeping deaths because the Health Department began to do more extensive reviews of infant deaths a year and a half ago. Under federal guidelines, for a death to be classified as SIDS there must be a death-scene investigation and an autopsy.
 City health officials are deploying what they call a "rapid death-review team" to quickly gather information on the circumstances of a baby's death, including environmental factors such as where the baby was sleeping.
 As part of its sleep campaign, the city is working with the Maternity Care Coalition, a community group that serves mothers and babies in some of the city! 's poorest neighborhoods. The coalition operates a "Cribs for Kids" pr ogram, which provides cribs to needy families and accepts monetary donations from people wanting to help out.
 "Together we can prevent babies from dying," JoAnne Fischer, the coalition's executive director said. Contact staff writer Susan FitzGerald at 215-854-2780 or sfitzgerald@phillynews.com.

Safe Sleeping Tips for Babies
Put your baby to sleep:

• In a safety-approved crib.
• Alone.
• On his or her back.
• On a firm mattress with a tightly fitted crib sheet.
• With only a small, flat infant blanket covering the baby from the chest down.
• Without comforters, quilts or pillows.
• Without toys or stuffed animals.

A safe crib has:

• No missing or broken hardware.
• Slats no more than 2 3/8 inches part.
• No corner posts more than 1/16 inch high
• No cutout design in the headboard or footboard.

 To find out whether your crib meets federal standards, go to the ! Consumer Product Safety Commission's Web site: www.consumer.gov/productsafety.htm.
 For families who cannot afford a crib, the Maternity Care Coalition distributes small, portable Pack 'n Play cribs for babies weighing up to 30 pounds. Interested parents should call Karen Pollack at 215-989-3589.
 People interested in donating $75 to cover the cost of a portable crib can call the coalition at 215-972-0700 or go to www.momobile.org. A $250 donation will pay for a full-size crib for an older baby.