July 7th, 2009

St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children implemented an institution-wide policy that parents are not allowed to sleep with their infants at the hospital. This policy was implemented to set an example and educate parents on proper sleeping arrangements for infants.

The Philadelphia Inquirer Reports:

       “For the last year, parents have been banned from sleeping with their sick babies at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children.

The hospital instituted the policy after three infants over three months were pronounced dead in the emergency room after bed sharing-related accidents at home.

Babies who sleep with a parent can become overheated, be rolled onto, or be smothered by soft sheets or pillows. They can also lose circulation if wedged between the mattress and furniture.

The hospital’s ER typically gets one such death every couple of months. But the “little cluster” of tragedies early last year inspired St. Christopher’s nurses to propose that the hospital lead by example.

“Today, people often don’t have primary pediatricians,” said emergency nursing director Kirsten Johnson-Moore. “So emergency departments, I feel, have a responsibility to educate and prevent.”

She said the policy is an extension of the “Back to Sleep” campaign against SIDS – sudden infant death syndrome – by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The new policy requires that all families of infant patients get talks and brochures on safe sleep practices.”

For the full story from the Philadelphia Inquirer click here.