Sen. Lesser Discusses Measures To End Infant Deaths

From the Connecticut Senate Democrats: Sen. Lesser joined Department of Children and Families (DCF) Commissioner Vannessa Dorantes, Assistant Child Advocate Faith Vos Winkel, Department of Veteran’s Affairs Commissioner Thomas J. Saadi and FAVOR, an organization which advocates for families with children who have mental, emotional or behavioral health issues for a press conference on preventing infant deaths to kick off Child Abuse Prevention Month.

According to the Center for Disease Control, 3,500 infants die each year in the United States due to unsafe sleep environments.

“We’ve lost too many infants due to unsafe sleeping conditions,” said Sen. Lesser. “It is imperative that we do everything we can to ensure every single child in our state is a safe sleeper and every family has the tools and resources to make this a possibility.”

At the Department of Veteran Affairs, family advocates and social workers conducted role-playing demonstrations for the purpose of educating DCF staff on how to provide effective care and assistance to children and families. These role-playing exercises took place in rooms designed to look like apartment units and homes.

According to Vos Winkel, the state loses a classroom size of children on average each year due to infant deaths caused by unsafe sleep issues. She also said from 2013-2018, 123 infants died due to unsafe sleeping conditions. She highlighted six simple tips to ensure safe sleep for infants, which she nicknamed the ABC’s for keeping infants safe. They are as followed:

• Always keep your infant close to you, but never together in the same bed
• Babies should always sleep on their backs
• Clear your babies’ sleep environment. No toys, pillows, blankets, etc.
• Don’t overheat or overdress a baby for sleep
• Environment must be safe from smoke and any harmful substances
• Find a support system for parents to get good sleep as well

Image Courtesy of the Connecticut State Democrats