Free training highlights infants' sleeping safety campaign
BY JEFF GOODMAN, Californian staff writer jgoodman@bakersfield.com
The Kern County Network for Children will host a free community training Oct. 13 as part of its month-long awareness initiative for infants' sleeping safety.
At the event, which will take place from 9 to 11 a.m. at University Square, 2000 K St., in Room US-2, representatives from the county coroner's office and Public Health Services Department will discuss sudden infant death syndrome and safe sleeping environments for babies.
The campaign, which grew in the 1980s to encourage parents to rest infants on their backs, has evolved to address recurring issues in local incidents, KCNC prevention services facilitator Michelle Humecky said.
"People just aren't aware," she said. "Very good parents do things that they shouldn't be doing."
According to data released by the KCNC, an unsafe sleeping environment was listed as a contributing factor in 12 infant deaths in the county in the last two years.
Positional asphyxia was the second leading cause of infant death in Kern County from 2004 to 2008, according to the children's network.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has outlined several precautions that parents should take to prevent tragedies.
For one, it warns against co-sleeping -- infants sleeping in an adult bed with their parents -- because a parent could unintentionally roll onto the child or the infant could suffocate under sheets, pillows and blankets.
The academy also recommends that infants' sleeping areas include firm mattresses, tightly fitted sheets and no stuffed animals or other soft objects.
"Parents don't understand that these unsafe sleep environments can lead to this type of death," said Jane Yadon, co-chairwoman of the county's collaborative Child Death Review Team, which identifies trends in local incidents.
Humecky acknowledged that the prevalence of poverty in the region -- more than 20 percent of county residents are living in poverty, according to recent U.S. Census Bureau survey data -- may affect a family's ability to purchase a crib.
But, she said, many of the problems associated with infant sleeping are nonetheless preventable.
"There's a lot of misconception and a lot of misinformation," Humecky said. "We try to educate our community on these issues."
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