Farmington State Sen. Bye Votes in Favor of Bill Designed to Protect Babies

From Office of State Sen. Beth Bye

State Senator Beth Bye (D-West Hartford, Farmington) today joined a bipartisan and unanimous Senate vote in support of a bill requiring hospitals to provide information about safe sleep practices to parents of newborns before they bring their child home from the hospital.

According to the State Child Fatality Review Panel’s 2013 report reviewing infant and toddler deaths in Connecticut, infants are more likely to die from unsafe sleeping conditions than from child abuse or from accidental injury, including car accidents, choking, drowning or falls.

In 2013, there were at least 18 Connecticut children whose deaths were associated with unsafe sleep environments; the average age of these children at their time of death was just three months old.

“New parents are already under enough stress with a new baby in the house – giving them a page or two of information on the safest way to put their newborn down to sleep

is not only valuable, but it could be life-saving,” Sen. Bye said. “I remember being a young parent. The science on child development and safety practices is evolving all the time, and young families will benefit from the latest and best information.”

If passed by the House and signed into law by Governor Malloy, Connecticut would become the eighth state in the nation to enact such potentially life-saving requirements, joining California, Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Nebraska, Texas and Michigan.

The most common unsafe sleep environments include the following:

• Co-sleeping with parent(s) or siblings in an adult-size bed.
• Sleeping overnight in a car seat (outside of the vehicle).
• Sleeping in a crib with blankets, pillows, or on their stomachs.
• Put to sleep with a bottle.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend the following safe sleep practices:

• Always place babies on their backs for sleep.
• Use a firm sleep surface covered by a fitted sheet.
• Have the baby share the parent’s room, but not the parent’s bed.
• Keep soft objects, including pillows and loose bedding, out of a baby’s sleep area.

Although previous public service campaigns - such as the 1994 “Back to Sleep” campaign - successfully taught parents to put their babies to bed on their backs, some of the more recent recommendations - including having the baby sleep in a crib without blankets - are less well known. Because many parents are not aware of these other safe sleep practices, they inadvertently place their babies in danger.

Here in Connecticut, both the Department of Public Health and Department of Children and Families have already taken major steps with regard to the implementation of and education about safe sleep practices. DPH regulations require Connecticut day care operators to place infants (under 12 months old) to bed on their backs in a crib or bed that is free of soft surfaces and objects such as pillows, quilts, soft bumpers or stuffed toys. Operators are also prohibited from placing children to sleep in car seats, infant carriers or swings, unless medically necessary.

Photo by juliakuziw, via flickr creative commons.