News – 2018 Crib for Kids Press Release

The North County Prenatal/Perinatal Council and Heartbeats for Madden are proud to announce their collaboration to promote infant safe sleep practices for all new parents in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence County. The initiative is in partnership with Cribs for Kids® National Infant Safe Sleep Initiative. NCPPC and Heartbeats for Madden have collaborated to make Safe Sleep one of our top initiatives. We have been able to provide education pieces such as safe sleep books, magnets and posters to numerous parents in the tri-county area and would like to further our assistance to these families. Heartbeats for Madden was founded in 2014 after the devastating loss of 8-month-old Madden James Patrick Mooney. Madden was put down for a nap while at his daycare provider, on an adult bed with a bottle, surrounded by blankets and pillows. At some point during his nap, he rolled into the bedding and in doing so was unable to receive adequate oxygen and suffocated. This tragedy is the driving force behind Heartbeats for Madden’s mission to ensure every single baby, gets every single heartbeat that they deserve and to educate and bring awareness to the Tri-County Area about the importance of safe sleep. Thousands of sudden, unexpected infant deaths occur each year in the United States. Research indicates the majority are accidental and are due to babies sleeping in unsafe sleeping environments. Nearly three-fourths are attributed to bed sharing. NCPPC and Heartbeats for Madden want to teach parents and caregivers that the safest way for a baby to sleep is alone, on his or her back, in a bare, safety-approved crib. In addition to educational tools, qualifying families will receive Pack ‘n Play® portable cribs if they cannot, otherwise, afford safe sleeping environments for their infants. To further reduce the risk of sleep-related deaths, the American Academy of Pediatrics also recommends:

• A firm mattress, closely fitted to the sides of the crib, and a tight-fitting sheet
• Wearable blankets in place of loose bedding
• Removal of all pillows, blankets, bumpers, and toys from the crib
• Never let baby sleep, with or without someone, on a couch, or in a bed or chair
• Maintain a smoke-free home
• Breastfeed, which has important health benefits, but returning baby to the crib when finished
• Keeping baby’s sleep area in the same room as mom and dad, but NOT in the same bed

Risks of Sharing a Bed with Baby The risks of an infant sleeping in an adult bed or bed-sharing include:

• Suffocation in soft bedding (pillows, thick quilts, and comforters)
• Suffocation from an adult, pet, or another child laying on baby
• Entrapment between the bed and wall
• Entrapment involving the bed frame, headboard or footboard
• Falls from the bed onto floor or in piles of clothing, plastic bags or other soft materials, resulting in suffocation

For more information, please call the North Country Prenatal/Perinatal Council at 315-788-8533.