News

Sleep safety kits helping save infants’ lives in Duval County

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — According to the Florida Department of Health, in 2018, Duval County had more infants die from unsafe sleeping than anywhere else in Florida.

So, the First Coast Child Protection Team is implementing a program that includes giving safe sleep kits to all hospitals in the area.

Like any new mom, Liz Frostenson was overwhelmed when her daughter Finley Frazier was born.

“‘Oh my gosh, I have this new baby. Where’s the manual to take care of her?’” she remembers thinking.

To start, Liz’s nurse handed her a kit that teaches parents how to prevent their infants from suffocating in their sleep.

It has visual reminders a onesie that says ‘this side up,’ and the ABC’s every new parent needs to know which is, keep your baby Alone, on their Back, and in their Crib whenever they are put down to sleep.

“You’re taking a high risk if you put them down any other way to sleep,” said Vicki Whitfield, the Program Coordinator for the UF Division of Child Protection.

Whitfield helps deliver these to nine birthing hospitals in Duval County.

“We found out in 2019 that the year before, Duval County had the highest number of infant die from unsafe sleep across the state of Florida, and that was a real wake up call for us,” she said.

But the numbers show the kits are working.

Nurses began to hand them out on January 1, 2020.

Before that, an average of 25-30 infants would die from unsafe sleeping in Duval County.

But in a year and a half, that number has declined to 11 total.

But there are still misconceptions about co-sleeping.

“Parents think that because my parents did it with me then it must be ok, I turned out fine, no you just turned out lucky,” said Michelle Urbanek, a pediatric nurse practitioner with UF Health.

“My own mom, she questioned, I thought my baby was supposed to sleep on her stomach,” Frostenson said. “But that has since changed.”

And these tools are part of that change.

“We have those reminders throughout our home, it’s accountability,” Frostenson added.

In addition to Duval County, soon these kits will be available across these other seven counties:

  • Nassau County
  • Clay County
  • Baker County
  • St. Johns County
  • Putnam County
  • Flagler County
  • Volusia County