A team of nurses which support families around baby health in Doncaster is raising awareness of safe sleep.
As part of the Lullaby Trust’s 'Safer Sleep Week' which runs from March 9-15, parents who may be going through the challenging time of looking after a young baby, were invited to the Doncaster Health Visiting team's First Friends group at Balby Family Hub.
Led by Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH), as part of the Safer Sleep Week awareness campaign, the group and marked Safe Sleep Week, raising awareness of the issues around Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
Parents were offered guidance on the best ways to make sure their babies are sleeping safely. The focus of the campaign this year is lack of sleep and the importance of safe sleep to reduce the risk of SIDS. Around four babies die every week in the UK from SIDS. There is no known cause and it is not yet known how to completely prevent it, but there are things that have proven to significantly lower the chances of it happening.
Emma Lancaster, RDaSH Community Nursery Nurse, said: ‘All new parents will know what an exhausting experience having a young baby can be, which can result in sleep deprivation. It’s important that we raise awareness of SIDS and safer sleep. We do this by supporting parents with advice such as always placing your baby on their back and avoiding letting the baby get too hot.”
Parents can speak to their health visitor or midwife for more information or they can find more advice on The Lullaby Trust website, which includes vital information such as the best position for babies to sleep in, how to co-sleep more safely and other guidelines that can reduce the risk of SIDS. Go to www.lullabytrust.org.uk