Reducing Infant Deaths Linked to Unsafe Sleeping Practices

Over the past two years, Hertfordshire’s Safeguarding Children’s Partnership, along with local health and family services, has been working to reduce unexpected infant deaths during co-sleeping. This collaboration has led to the development of the ‘Health in all Policies’ (HiAP)safer sleep framework, which provides detailed guidance to help reduce these tragic incidents. You can find a summary page online at A HiAP framework for Safer Sleeping. Please email dee.debruin1@hertfordshire.gov.uk if you would like a full copy for more detailed guidance.

Early years providers in particular, are identified as key players in disseminating Safe Sleeping messages to parents and carers you may see in the course of your work. We are particularly concerned about families dealing with bed poverty. Bed poverty includes broken and damaged beds that a family cannot afford to replace, sharing of beds and rooms, sleeping on the floor, or being unable to wash and dry bedding. All infants under the age of 1 years old should always have their own sleeping environment, even if a parent chooses to co-sleep with the infant.

How you can help:

• Use both routine and opportunistic appointments to discuss safe sleeping practices with families.
• Ensure all frontline staff complete recommended training on safer sleeping, ideally on an annual basis, through resources like the Lullaby Trust
• If you identify risks of unsafe sleeping situations or bed poverty, refer families to you trusted resources e.g. their local Family Centre Service, or the Lullaby Trust has lots of information and advice.

By incorporating safe sleeping messages into your interactions, you can significantly influence parents’ and carers’ decisions, helping to create safer sleeping environments for infants.

Thank you for your support in keeping Hertfordshire children safe.