"The first funeral of a baby I ever attended was for the infant boy of a patient whose first son I delivered a couple of years earlier.

One day, for some extraordinary reason, this little boy was placed to sleep in the same crib as his baby twin siblings. At some point he rolled over and suffocated one of the twins. He was there at the funeral – in his tiny little suit holding his mother’s hand. It broke my heart.

Honestly, I do not remember having ever discussed safe sleep with this patient…I always wonder whether it might have made a difference if I had." 

                                                   - Midwife, Baltimore City

• Sleep-related infant death, including Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), is the leading cause of postneonatal infant death. Almost all of these deaths are preventable. 

• Studies have found that physicians and nurses do not consistently discuss how to prevent sleep-related infant death with patients.

• Patients who have been counseled by healthcare providers on safe sleep and SIDS risk reduction strategies are three times more likely to put their babies to sleep on their backs.

You are a critical voice in Baltimore City's SLEEP SAFE campaign!

Click here for your CALL TO ACTION