TOLEDO, Ohio — October is Safe Infant Sleep Awareness Month. Vanessa Ladriyé is a health educator with the Toledo Lucas County Health Department. She asks parents to remember their ABC's.
"'A' is alone, 'B' is back and 'C' in an empty crib at all times, meaning there should be nothing in the crib," Ladriyé said.
That means no blankets, no pillows, no stuffed animals, no bumpers and no wedges to prop up the baby.
Experts say they can be swaddled up until they can roll over on their own.
Dr. Alpa Patel with Nationwide Children's Hospital says it's to reduce to risk of accidental suffocation by keeping the airway open.
"Babies are small. They don't have the ability to move on their own. As adults, if you have breathing issues as you sleep, we tend to automatically roll or change positions. Infants, babies are not able to do that," Patel said.
They also can't move blankets or stuffed animals away from their face.
In Lucas County, Ladriyé says babies sleeping in bed with caregivers is one of the biggest risks she's seeing. Whether it's parents wanting to keep a watchful eye on their babies or caregivers simply not having a crib.
"We have seen more infants co-sleeping between the ages of 12 and 18 months so we've been seeing more older infants passing away," Ladriyé said.
Patel says some new parents are also relying on the guidance of their parents. While coming from a good place, the science and research has since been updated.
"What we perceived was the right thing to do in the past isn't necessarily the best way to do it now," Patel said. "So I think we're just all learning as we get older and we're holding on to the good things we learned in the past, but we have to improve on the things that have not been serving our children and adults very well."
Ladriyé encourages soon-to-be parents to get connected to resources during pregnancy, ask doctors about safe sleep practices and find out how to get the baby gear they need. If not just for themselves, but for anyone else who might be caring for their baby.
"There's a lot of resources here in Lucas County that can help you get that pack-n-play for your child, before birth or after birth, so you have a safe place for your child to sleep in at all times," Ladriyé said.