To help prevent babies from dying in unsafe sleep situations, Hamilton County Job and Family Services begins on Monday an unprecedented prevention campaign.HCJFS workers will visit neighborhoods to talk to parents of infants and distribute free Halo swaddles and sleep sacks. Proper sleep attire is the one aspect of unsafe sleep deaths we have the most potential to control. Workers will also demonstrate how to use the swaddles and sleep sacks and explain to parents why safe sleep is so important.
About 3,500 babies die each year in the United States from unsafe sleeping situations. Statistics showed 2020 was the worst year in almost a decade for safe-sleep infant deaths in Hamilton County, with 21.
Proper sleep attire keeps babies warm without the risk of suffocation from blankets. We trained more than 200 HCJFS caseworkers this spring in safe sleep and safe sleep attire so they can share this information.
“We don’t want to wait for a need or a scare,” said Amy Story, director of strategic operations. “The agency wants to provide these items to be more preventative in serving families and to increase our visibility in the community.”
Please help us spread this important message by sharing our social media posts – look for #SafeSleepWithJFS. Share this information at church and at work. Please urge parents of infants to come find us at a tour stop to learn about safe sleep and get a free swaddle or sleep sack.
We are Supporting Families and Changing Lives.
#SafeSleepWithJFS
