Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the leading cause of death among infants between 1 month and 1 year of age, with most deaths occurring between 1 and 4 months.
Research shows that there are some effective ways to reduce the risk of SIDS and other sleep-related causes of infant deaths.
Hospitals can play a particularly vital role in providing early SIDS training to the parents of newborns.
UPMC Mercy has partnered with Cribs for Kids® — a national infant safe sleep initiative — to teach safe sleep at the hospital and in the community.
Through the program, UPMC Mercy teaches parents and caregivers the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) safe sleep guidelines for infants.
All caregivers — parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, babysitters, and childcare providers — should know how to help babies sleep safely.
Follow the AAP's guidelines to create a safe sleep environment and help lower the risk of SIDS and other sleep-related causes of death.
UPMC Mercy is a Cribs for Kids Gold Certified National Safe Sleep Champion — its highest level of certification. As safe sleep champions, we're proactively working to reduce the number of sleep-related infant deaths in western Pa., which has one of the state’s highest SIDS rates.