Wood County Hospital has joined the Ohio Hospital Association’s statewide initiative named "Safe
Sleep is Good4Baby" to help target infant mortality in the state.
Ohio has one of the worst infant mortality rates in the nation, ranked 47th with a rate of 7.6 in 2012.
Every week in Ohio, three infants die in unsafe sleep environments.
"Although many organizations have been working tirelessly to improve the statewide rate, Ohio
continues to fall behind nationally," said Mike Abrams, OHA president and CEO. "As healthcare
leaders in our communities, hospitals are ideal partners to help address this issue in a coordinated and
targeted way."
Many factors influence infant mortality, but in Ohio each year more than 150 incidents are sleep-related
(including SIDS, accidental suffocation, positional asphyxia, overlay and undetermined causes).
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Ohio Department of Health recommend that all infants sleep
alone, on their backs and in a crib – every time they are placed to sleep – to avoid these unfortunate
tragedies.
Those steps – Alone, Back, Crib – are termed the "ABCs of safe sleep."
Ohio’s hospitals have the opportunity to reach the parents of nearly 140,000 newborns every year with
educational messages about the importance of providing a safe sleeping environment. OHA is kicking off
the Safe Sleep is Good4Baby initiative to draw attention to the important part safe sleep plays in
reducing Ohio’s infant mortality rate, and to educate parents, caregivers and the community about the
importance of providing safe sleep environments for infants.
As a participant of the campaign, Wood County Hospitals’ Family Birthing Center is taking the following
steps:
• Modeling safe sleep practices in the hospital.
• All newborns, unless otherwise requested by their parents, will be dressed in a HALO SleepSack Swaddle
wearable blanket which replaces the traditional blankets and placed in the crib, alone and on their
back.
• Counseling new parents and families about a safe sleep environment, and providing parents with a safe
sleep diaper bag, sleeper, board book and educational materials prior to their hospital discharge.
• Advocating and educating in the community about the importance of safe sleep. Several Obstet-rics
nurses will be contacting nurseries and day care centers in Wood County about Safe Sleep. They will also
provide educational materials to individuals who participate in the Safe Sitter babysitting classes.
Additionally, expecting parents who attend the Baby Care Basic classes at the hospital will be
instructed about Safe Sleep. The Wood County Hospital Gift Shop will be selling HALO SleepSack Swaddle
wearable blankets as well.