To help align and coordinate Ohio hospitals’ support of safe sleep practices, OHA’s Safe Sleep is Good4Baby campaign positions hospitals’ health care workers and clinical experts as leaders and advocates of the American Academy of Pediatrics and Ohio Department of Health recommendations for safe infant sleep. With their interactions with new parents and infant caregivers, hospitals’ staff can promote a uniform message and guidance about infant safe sleep environments and provide the necessary support to reduce infant mortality in Ohio. Many factors influence infant mortality, but in Ohio each year more than 15 percent of infant deaths are sleep-related. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Ohio Department of Health recommend that all infants sleep alone, on their backs and in a crib – every time they are placed to sleep – to reduce these unfortunate tragedies.
Research has shown that patients model behavior after health care providers, therefore it is imperative to ensure that all infant units follow AAP recommendations for safe sleep. Article: Safe Infant Sleep Interventions: What is the Evidence for Successful Behavior Change? - Current Pediatric Review (2016)