Parents and carers across the Black Country are being given free thermometers to ensure the correct room temperature for their babies as part of the Safer Sleep Week campaign.
The Lullaby Trust campaign raises awareness of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and the simple advice that can reduce the risk of this.
It is being supported by the Black Country Local Maternity and Neonatal System (LMNS) and Black Country Child Death Review Strategic Partnership (BCCDRSP).
The thermometers are a helpful reminder that an ideal temperature where babies sleep is 16-20 degrees and is one of a number of top tips for safer sleeping for babies under a year old.
Taylor-Jane Daley is a Beechdale mum of two whose youngest daughter Amelia-Lily Watkinson was born on 25 January this year.
She said: “I was grateful to be given a thermometer through Walsall’s Health in Pregnancy Service because I don’t think you realise quite how warm a room has become sometimes.
“We all want to do what we can to keep our babies safe.”
Midwives, Maternity Support Workers, health visitors, Neonatal Nurses and Public Health teams within the Black Country Integrated Care System are all supporting Safer Sleep Week from 10-16 March to reduce the number of baby deaths in the region where unsafe sleeping habits have been identified.
Sally Roberts, LMNS Senior Responsible Officer and Chief Nursing Officer for the NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board, said: “Sadly, there are still deaths of babies in the Black Country each year that could have been prevented if safer sleeping advice had been followed.
“Reviews of these child deaths have identified unsafe sleeping practices (such as room temperature) as one of the risk factors that we can change. Others include substance misuse, overcrowding, smoking in the household or drinking alcohol.
“The risk of SIDS increases where one or more of these factors have been identified alongside unsafe sleeping practices and we are working with families across the Black Country to raise awareness and try to avoid them suffering the heartbreak of a child death.”
The key messages for Safer Sleep Week are:
- Lie your baby on their back for every sleep and avoid them overheating
- Use a firm, flat, waterproof mattress.
- Keep the cot/moses basket clear of items
- Keep baby and the place they spend time in completely smoke free
- Never fall asleep with your baby on you in a chair or on a sofa
