Medically Reviewed by Douglas M. Moeckel, MD

News surrounding infant deaths in South Carolina is both good and bad. The infant mortality rate in South Carolina saw a slight increase early in this century. However, it was a “substantial increase” in sleep-related deaths that pushed the rate up.

“Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), which is feared by parents, was not the primary cause of the rise in infant deaths,” says McLeod Neonatologist Douglas Moeckel, MD. “According to state officials, suffocation and strangulation while sleeping accounted for nearly all these accidents. Most of these sad incidents can be prevented by following some simple safe sleep practices.”

The easiest way to remember what to do is to follow the ABCs of Safe Sleep.

Or you can follow a short list of Do’s and Don’ts compiled by Charlie’s Kids Foundation, formed after 3-week-old Charlie Hanke died while sleeping on the couch with his dad in 2010.

1. DO put your baby on his or her back to sleep, not on their side, where they could accidentally roll onto their stomach. Play time is tummy time for exercising their head, neck and arm muscles.
2. DO put your baby in the crib to sleep – even for naps. DON’T allow them to nap in a car seat, swing, stroller or infant carrier.
3. DO place your baby’s crib in the room with you. They can sense you nearby, and you can hear if there are any problems with the baby’s sleep or breathing. DON’T put them in bed with you or let them sleep on soft mattresses, couches, pillows or waterbeds.
4. DO keep the crib free of stuffed animals, blankets, pillows, bumper pads or sleep positioners. Today’s cribs are built to prevent a baby’s head from getting stuck in between the slats. Make sure there’s a tight, fitted sheet over the mattress. Dress the baby so they are comfortable and not too hot.
5. DO give the baby a pacifier for sleep. To ensure that your baby is breathing fresh air while sleeping, DON’T smoke near the sleeping infant.

For your own list of DO’s and DON’Ts to post on the refrigerator or in your baby’s bedroom, click here.

For those of you who would like an easy-to-read, easy-to understand resource (even for young children), you can order the “Good Night Moon”-type illustrated book Sleep Baby Safe and Snug written by a pediatrician. Click here to order from Amazon.

Sources include:  McLeod Health, SC Department of Health and Environmental Control, March of Dimes, Charlie’s Kids Foundation, Healthy Children Foundation