professionals

Child care providers

A letter from the Executive Director

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SIDS Mid-Atlantic provides training on topics related to infant safety, safe sleep environments, and SIDS. Our Executive Director is a certified Child Care Health Consultant, and a nurse with over 35 years' experience in Maternal-Child Health.

Safe Sleep for My Grandbaby     a brochure in PDF

SIDS and the Child Care Provider       a brochure in PDF

Both brochures: print on legal size 8.5 by 14 inch paper

Healthy Child Care Links

The following is from First Candle/SIDS Alliance.

"Since the launch of the national Back To Sleep campaign in 1994, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) rates in the U.S. have decreased dramatically by more than 50%. Yet despite our best efforts to date, SIDS remains the number one cause of death for infants from one month to one year of age.

A recent study of SIDS deaths in child care estimated that 20% of SIDS deaths occur when babies are in the care of someone other than their parents. Fourteen percent (14%) of the deaths in the study happened while the babies were sleeping in child care centers or family child care homes. The study makes it clear that programs – and parents – need to help educate child care providers about SIDS risk reduction.

It is essential that everyone working with infants understand the importance of life-saving messages on reducing the risk of SIDS and other accidental infant deaths. Consistency of care - from parent to caregiver and from nighttime to naptime - is a major concern. When babies who routinely sleep on their backs are placed or otherwise find themselves sleeping on their tummy for the first time, there is a twenty times increased risk for SIDS.

Safe back-to-sleep practices are not being used consistently in all family childcare or center-based childcare programs. In fact, only 15 states in the US have childcare licensing regulations that mandate placing infants on their backs to sleep.

The National SIDS and Infant Death Program Support Center (PSC) of First Candle/SIDS Alliance provides technical assistance to professionals in managing infant death education, outreach and support. In this section you will find a variety of resources to help childcare providers provide the safest environment possible for the babies entrusted to their care."