Safe Sleep:‌ ‌The‌ ‌Journey‌ ‌to‌ ‌Continue‌ ‌Lowering‌ ‌Infant‌ ‌Mortality‌ ‌

LiveBeyond is putting in place further steps to continue to lower the infant mortality rate in our region of Thomazeau, Haiti. Along with extending our maternal health program to monitor the mother & child for 1,000 post-birth, we are adding the element of safe sleep. We believe incorporating safe sleep education & resources will allow us to be successful to continue lowering the infant mortality rate.  

Our medical initiatives in the maternal health program have already shown a significant decrease in infant mortality in our region. As the rate has begun to plateau, we realized next steps to continue decreasing infant mortality are beyond medical care. It will involve creating safe environments for each child. 

It is very common for families to share a bed with their infants, also known as co-sleeping, in Haiti, simply because of the resources available to them. Unfortunately, co-sleeping can lead to life-threatening complications like Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). There are multiple factors that lead to SIDS and co-sleeping is one of those factors. According to the Mayo Clinic, these are environmental factors that lead to SIDS:

– Sleeping on the stomach or side. Babies placed in these positions to sleep might have more difficulty breathing than those placed on their backs.

– Sleeping on a soft surface. Lying face down on too soft of a surface can block an infant’s airway.

– Sharing a bed. While the risk of SIDS is lowered if an infant sleeps in the same room as his or her parents, the risk increases if the baby sleeps in the same bed with parents, siblings or pets.

– Overheating. Being too warm while sleeping can increase a baby’s risk of SIDS.

To continue to combat the infant mortality rate in Thomazeau, Haiti, we are developing partnerships so we can provide safe sleep bassinets to the mothers in the maternal health program. These safe sleep bassinets will allow the baby their own space to sleep safely on a firm surface. This will also allow them to not become overheated by surrounding body temperatures. We will also start incorporating safe sleep education into the maternal health education curriculum.  

By providing these resources to the mothers in the maternal health program, our hope is to see the infant mortality rate continue to decrease in our region. It brings us great joy at LiveBeyond that your support allows us to provide all of our services and resources at no cost to the mothers in the maternal health program.

We ask that you pray for successful partnerships, sufficient resources, and smooth shipping processes so these resources are readily available for the mothers and children of Thomazeau. Thank you for your continued support!