PUB-5002 Sleeping Babies - OCFSKeeping Sleeping Babies Safer As a caregiver, you know that keeping your baby safe is important. Your baby needs you when she is awake and when she is

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Other things you can do to keep babies safe:

• Offer a pacifier at naptime and at bedtimeduring the first year of life. For breastfedinfants, offer the pacifier after one monthof age to help with successful breastfeeding.

• Make sure no one smokes in the home or around the baby.

• Avoid products that claim to keep the babyin a “safe” position—most of these have not been tested for safety; some can actuallyincrease the risk of harm.

• Give the baby some supervised “tummy time” when she is awake. This helps develop the baby’s muscles, and reducesthe chances of flat spots on the head.

• Share this “Safe Sleeping” informationwith everyone who takes care of thebaby.

For more information about keeping sleeping babies safer, contact:New York State Office of Children & Family Services800-345-KIDS (5437)ocfs.ny.gov

For child care complaints, call 1-800-732-5207 In New York City, call 311 or 1-800-732-5207

New York State Department of Healthhealth.ny.gov

Growing Up Healthy Hotline800-522-5006

Preventive Information Resource Center Information Line (PIRC) and Parent Helpline 800-342-PIRC (7472)

“...promoting the safety, permanency, and well-being of our children, families

and communities”...

Pub-5002 (Rev. 12/2017)

Kee

ping

Sle

epin

g B

abie

s Sa

fer

A ba

by n

eeds

you

whe

n sh

e is

aw

ake

and

whe

n sh

e is

read

y to

sle

ep.

ocfs.ny.gov

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Kee

ping

Sle

epin

g B

abie

s Sa

fer

As

a ca

regi

ver,

you

know

that

kee

ping

you

r bab

y sa

fe is

impo

rtant

. You

r bab

y ne

eds

you

whe

n sh

e is

aw

ake

and

whe

n sh

e is

read

y to

sle

ep.

Eve

ry y

ear a

cros

s N

ew Y

ork

Sta

te, s

ome

babi

es d

ie w

hen

slee

ping

in

uns

afe

surr

ound

ings

. You

can

redu

ce th

is d

ange

r by

taki

ng a

few

si

mpl

e st

eps

ever

y tim

e yo

u pu

t a b

aby

dow

n to

sle

ep.

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t, yo

u sh

ould

thin

k ab

out p

laci

ng th

e ba

by’s

crib

in y

our r

oom

ne

ar y

our b

ed. S

leep

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e to

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r bab

y m

akes

car

e ea

sier

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n m

ake

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ore

conv

enie

nt.

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ies

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st w

hen

slee

ping

:O

n th

eir b

acks

Alo

ne in

a s

afet

y-ap

prov

ed c

rib, s

lats

sho

uld

be 2

⅜

inch

es o

r les

s ap

art.

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a fir

m m

attre

ss w

ith a

tigh

t-fitt

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out a

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oft i

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uch

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illow

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rtabl

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mpe

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ies

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afe

whe

n sl

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ater

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mat

tress

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n ba

g or

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oth

er s

oft s

urfa

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ushi

oned

cha

ir or

recl

iner

, or o

n a

couc

h (a

bab

y’s

head

can

get

trap

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bla

nket

s (in

stea

d, u

se li

ghtw

eigh

t sle

ep c

loth

ing,

suc

h as

a o

ne-p

iece

sle

eper

)

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an

adul

t who

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ove

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red

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king

med

icat

ion

that

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se s

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r usi

ng d

rugs

is v

ery

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wei

ght

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e si

tuat

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can

be

dang

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s fo

r a b

aby.

The

bab

y ca

n su

ffoca

te, o

r get

ove

rhea

ted,

or r

oll o

ff an

d be

se

rious

ly h

urt.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

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