By Brianna Mayhair

JAMESTOWN, N.D. (JRMC) – Jamestown Regional Medical Center is sharing a friendly reminder to safely put babies to sleep.

“Placing baby on his or her back for all sleep times is the best way to reduce SIDS risk,” said Emily Woodley, Family BirthPlace Manager. “We care about our babies and we care about their families. ‘Back to sleep’ is the safest option for our littlest community members.”

The Cribs for Kids Safe Sleep program encourages hospitals to educate and model the safest practices for putting a baby to sleep. This includes placing baby to sleep on his or her back in a crib, rather than in a shared bed. Parents are encouraged to share a room with the child, but not a bed as rolling over on the child can be fatal, according to the North Dakota Department of Health.

In 2018, the NDDOH named JRMC the first hospital to receive the gold-level distinction from the Cribs for Kids Safe Sleep program.  

JRMC is a 25-bed critical access hospital in Jamestown, N.D. The hospital assists in the delivery of about 350 babies each year.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends newborns up to 1 year of age sleep on their backs. This method provides the best protection against sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). SIDS is also known as “crib death” because most babies who die of SIDS are found in their cribs. SIDS claims the lives of about 1,500 babies in the U.S. annually.

An additional 900 babies die each year due to accidental suffocation or strangulation in bed.

Other safe sleep tips include:

• Arrange baby’s sleep area is in the same room, next to where parents sleep.
• Use a firm and flat sleep surface, such as a mattress in a safety-approved crib, covered by a fitted sheet.
• Baby should not sleep in an adult bed, on a couch, or on a chair alone, with you, or with anyone else.
• Do not smoke or let anyone else smoke around your baby.

To learn more, visit www.jrmcnd.com or www.ndhealth.gov/sids.