Gifts to educate parents of October babies at BCMC about SIDS | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Beaufort County Medical Center and the North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation will partner to give onesies to every baby born at the Medical Center in October for National Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Awareness Month. Each onesie has an attractive safe sleep message, "Stomach to Play, Back to Sleep, For Baby's Safe Sleep." These onesies remind parents and caregivers that placing a baby on his back to sleep for the first year of life is the most effective way to reduce the risk of SIDS.

    In 2009, SIDS accounted for 98 deaths in children under one year of age in North Carolina. In addition to SIDS deaths, many babies die from accidental suffocation and strangulation. These preventable deaths are often related to babies being placed in unsafe sleep environments such as couches, sleeping with parents, or surrounded by excess bedding, according to the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The safest place for a baby to sleep is alone in a crib or bassinet close to a parent or caregiver.

    NCHSF, in collaboration with the N.C. Division of Public Health, coordinates the N.C. Infant Safe Sleep campaign. Since 1994, the campaign has educated families, childcare providers, health and social service providers and policy makers about steps they can take to reduce the risk of SIDS. As part of its hospital (HOPES) initiative, NCHSF will send 35 "Stomach to Play, Back to Sleep, For Baby's Safe Sleep" onesies to Beaufort County Medical Center for anticipated October births.

    Safe sleep tips for new parents include:

•  Put your baby on his/her back to sleep for naps and at night
•  Use a firm mattress for baby's crib
•  Keep pillows, comforters and soft blankets, stuffed animals and toys out of the crib
•  Baby should sleep in his or her own crib
•  Do not let anyone smoke near your baby
•  Breastfeed your baby: it can reduce the risk of SIDS by 50%, as well as many other benefits
•  Keep baby and the room temperature comfortable (68˚ - 75˚F) - not too hot

    Joyce Baker, Nurse Manager of Women's Services, arranged for Beaufort County Medical Center to receive the onesies. NCHSF Infant Safe Sleep Coordinator, Marta Pirzadeh, has been leading the hospital outreach effort.

    "Hospital staff is provided many opportunities to educate new parents and model safe sleep behaviors," says Pirzadeh. "We are thrilled that new parents will leave Beaufort County Medical Center with information to help their babies sleep safely once they get home."

    Since 2007, HOPES has provided infant safe sleep resources to more than 45 hospitals. This year, more than 9,000 babies are expected to leave hospitals with the onesies. For more information, visit www.NCHealthyStart.org, or call 919-828-1819.
Go Back


Leave a Guest Comment

Your Name or Alias
Your Email Address ( your email address will not be published)
Enter Your Comment ( no code or urls allowed, text only please )




Do You Wanna' Be an Ironman? Vidant Beaufort Hospital, Health and Fitness Lifestyles releases winners’ list from 5K Road Race


HbAD0

Latest Health and Fitness

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is launching a Community Partner Engagement Plan to ensure the voices of North Carolina communities and families continue to be at the center of the department’s work.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will host a live Spanish-language Cafecito and tele-town hall on Tuesday, Feb. 27, from 6 to 7 p.m., to discuss how to support and improve heart health as well as prevent and manage heart disease.
Part of ongoing effort to raise awareness and combat rising congenital syphilis cases
Recognition affirms ECU Health’s commitment to providing highly-reliable, human-centered care
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is launching a new Statewide Peer Warmline on Feb. 20, 2024. The new Peer Warmline will work in tandem with the North Carolina 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by giving callers the option to speak with a Peer Support Specialist.
A subsidiary of one of the largest health insurance agencies in the U.S. was hit by a cyberattack earlier this week from what it believes is a foreign “nation-state” actor, crippling many pharmacies’ ability to process prescriptions across the country.
The John Locke Foundation is supporting a New Bern eye surgeon's legal fight against North Carolina's certificate-of-need restrictions on healthcare providers.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today released the following statement on the Trails Carolina investigation:
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today released a draft of its 2024-25 Olmstead Plan designed to assist people with disabilities to reside in and experience the full benefit of inclusive communities.

HbAD1

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will host a live fireside chat and tele-town hall on Tues., Feb. 20, from 6 to 7 p.m., to discuss how to support and improve heart health as well as prevent and manage heart disease.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is investing $5.5 million into the FIT Wellness program, part of the North Carolina Formerly Incarcerated Transition Program in the UNC School of Medicine, to improve reentry services for the justice-involved population.
As of Feb. 1, 2024, 346,408 newly eligible North Carolinians are enrolled in Medicaid and now have access to comprehensive health care, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ Medicaid Expansion Enrollment Dashboard.
Controversy surrounds a healthcare provider’s decision to block parents from having access to their children’s prescription records.
Members of the North Carolina Rural Health Association (NCRHA) visited Washington, D.C., on Feb. 14, 2024, to meet with elected officials and advocate for policies to improve access to care in rural areas.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today released the request for proposal to hire the organization that will help manage the Children and Families Specialty Plan.
As part of its commitment to improve the health and well-being of North Carolina children and families, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced the launch of its Child Behavioral Health dashboard.
February is National Children's Dental Health Month, and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is emphasizing the importance of children's dental hygiene to overall health and well-being.

HbAD2

 
Back to Top