The BPHC, which is the lead Department of Health and Human Services' agency in providing access to primary and preventive health care to vulnerable and low-income populations, will be distributing safe sleeping information to health centers across the country. The national survey released today was commissioned to find out how parents place their babies to sleep, what information they know about safe sleeping practices, and where they get that information. While almost half of Caucasians say they get information about sleep position from their physician or a nurse, African-Americans say they tend to get such information more from family members such as a grandmother. Studies have shown that soft bedding such as quilts, comforters or pillows may also increase the risk of SIDS deaths from suffocation. As many as one-third of the babies who die from SIDS each year may have suffocated in soft, fluffy bedding.
Suffocation can occur when soft bedding becomes molded around a baby's face.
The survey pointed to the need to get more information about the risks of soft bedding to all new parents. We need to continue to get the word out to all parents, but the survey shows there's an information gap that needs to be addressed. We need to target information to parents where SIDS rates continue to be very high. Gerber funded the survey and the printing of thousands of CPSC's Baby Safety Shower kits for distribution to health centers nationwide. We're proud to partner with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in this important effort to save lives.