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New safer sleeping
campaign launched on Merseyside
A new campaign called:-
'Safer Sleeping for Baby' has been launched across Merseyside. It aims to prevent
sudden and unexpected infant deaths by providing advice to parents and
carers on safer sleeping for their baby.
The work has been commissioned by Merseyside Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP)
to tackle an issue which has caused an average of 5 deaths each year for the
last 5 years.
The campaign has been launched to highlight the importance of providing a
safe environment for babies when they sleep, to reduce the risk of sudden
death. It is based on research and messages from a successful campaign in
Lancashire 'Give Me Room to Breathe'. The feedback from Lancashire
parents and carers indicated they wanted simple, clear advice on safe
sleeping for babies. Families said they wanted a supportive campaign with a
positive 'can do' tone. 'Safer Sleep for Baby' is based around
6 simple steps, that will help parents and carers keep their baby safe:-
1. Keep baby away from smoke, before and after birth.
2. Put baby in a cot, crib or Moses basket to sleep; never fall asleep with
them on a sofa or chair.
3. Never fall asleep with baby after drinking or taking drugs/medication.
4. Put baby to sleep on their back with their feet to the foot of the cot.
5. Keep baby's head and face uncovered and make sure they don't get too hot.
6. Breastfeed your baby; support is available if you need it.
Debbie Hammersley, Designated Nurse for Safeguarding Children and Chair of
the Safe Sleep group, said:- "We want everyone who works with children
and families to be consistent, to speak with a unified voice to reinforce
these messages to parents and carers."
Andre Rebello, HM Coroner for Liverpool and Wirral, said:- "I fully
endorse and support this excellent campaign which will help keep our
children safer. One recognised factor in sudden and unexpected deaths in
infancy is unsafe sleeping practices."
The safe sleep messages will be shared with parents and carers in a variety
of forms such as cot cards, room thermometers, bookmarks, postcards and
posters. These will be given to parents at specific times by their midwife,
health visitor and children's centre staff.
We recognise that every family is unique and live in circumstances that may
be different from other families and that some parents may have more
specific questions. There are people in each local area across Merseyside
who can help including health professionals and children's centre staff who
can offer support and signpost people to other organisations such as The
Lullaby Trust (previously FSID) helpline.
Merseyside Safeguarding Children Boards cover the local authority areas of
Knowsley, Liverpool, Wirral, Sefton and St Helens. |
