Community | A matter of life or death
Feel free
www.dakotacounty.us search Sleep On It
Every time you lay an infant down to sleep, make sure: The crib is free of loose sheets, blankets and pillows.
Sleep on it
One simple decision can mean the difference between an afternoon nap and the loss of a life When three infants died in just more than a year after being placed in unsafe sleeping positions in licensed Dakota County child care homes, we knew we had to do something. What we did was launch Sleep On It, a campaign to save babies’ lives. Hundreds of providers voluntarily attended optional training sessions centered on preventing infant deaths. Continued interest means Dakota County will provide more opportunities for this training in the future, educating providers on the best ways to put infants to sleep and the consequences when a child dies as a result of unsafe sleep practices. Since Sleep On It launched in April 2013, the entire state has taken notice.
The Minnesota Department of Human Services Commissioner visited one of our licensed child care homes last fall to commend us for proactively working to prevent infant deaths, and the governor showed support by declaring an Infant Safe Sleep Week in Minnesota. Sleep On It has also affected more than 20 other counties across the state that have started utilizing the campaign materials in their own communities. Still, the success of Sleep On It is most evident not by its widespread reach, but by the statistics themselves. Since the campaign launched, there have been no infant deaths reported at licensed Dakota County child care homes.
14 | www.dakotacounty.us | spring/summer 2014
The crib is free of toys and stuffed animals.
The infant is positioned face up, so they’re free to breathe.