LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Clark County officials looking to promote infant sleep safety with a new campaign.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, 3,500 infants die from sleep-related issues every year.
As of April 6, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department told Channel 13 seven deaths have been reported in their jurisdiction this year while 24 deaths were reported in 2021 and 2022.
"Our job is to determine if there was any foul play that played a factor in the accidental death," detective Bergman Gadea said. "It's extremely difficult to talk and interview these family members as they're dealing with loss. These families are going through possibly the most traumatic incident they have lived through."
County officials said many of those deaths come from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or accidental deaths from suffocation or strangulation.
The county is handing out 10,000 baby onesies to new parents and families as well as releasing educational videos and a website with resources in both English and Spanish.
"Our hope is that this campaign will help parents make informed decisions about how and where their babies sleep," said Jill Marano, the director of the Clark County Department of Family Services. "By providing accurate information about safe sleep practices, we can help ensure that more children have the chance to grow and thrive."
In 2022, @LVMPD responded to 24 co-sleep related deaths. The youngest child was only 6 days old. So far in 2023, they’ve responded to 7.
— Clark County Nevada (@ClarkCountyNV) April 27, 2023
“It can be prevented.”
That’s why Clark County Family Services has teamed up with @UMCSN & @AAPNevada to launch the “Safe Sleep” campaign. pic.twitter.com/wDotnDMFRc
"It's heartbreaking to think that so many infant deaths could have been prevented," Clark County Commissioner William McCurdy II said. "We must come together as a community to get the message out about how simple it can be to create a safe sleep environment for babies."
The Nevada chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics has a few tips to keep your newborns and infants safe.
- Infants should be placed on their back every time they sleep until the child turns one year old.
- Infants should sleep in the parents' room, close to the parents' bed but on a separate surface designed for infants. That's from the time the child is born up until six months to a year old. The Academy said room-sharing decreases the risk of SIDS by up to 50% and is safer than bed sharing or solitary sleeping.
- Infants should sleep on a firm sleep surface covered by a fitted sheet with no other bedding or soft objects.
