Crozer-Keystone's Women and Children’s Health Services offers tips for new parents to help keep their children safe and healthy when putting their children to bed.

Here are some of the suggestions Women and Children’s Health Services employees give to new moms and dads:

• Infants do not need pillows or bumper pads in cribs. Parents should also be aware to not use thick or soft mattress covers.
• Placing the infant at the foot of the crib reduces the risk of them getting under the blankets.
• Parents should position infants on their backs when sleeping.
• Infants need to sleep alone in their own bed. Adults may have a hard time waking up if they roll on the baby, and adult beds may have soft sleep surfaces that are not safe for babies. 

“New parents should also be aware that their babies do not get too hot while sleeping. In most cases, a diaper, a sleeper and a light blanket is all your baby needs at night. The ideal room temperature is around 65 to 70 degrees,” says Joanne Craig, director of Women and Children’s Health Services for Crozer-Keystone Health System.

Women and Children’s Health Services oversees Crozer-Keystone Healthy Start, which is part of federal program funded through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that focuses on reducing infant mortality in communities with large minority populations and high unemployment rates. Crozer-Keystone Healthy Start serves pregnant women, parents, families and caregivers with children aged from 0-24 months that reside in Chester, Eddystone, Woodlyn, Parkside, Upland, Toby Farms, Chester Township, Trainer, Marcus Hook, Linwood, or Upper Chichester Township.

The program’s staff makes home visits, helps pregnant women get early regular prenatal care and helps new moms stay up to date with their baby’s shots and check ups. The case managers also help with transportation to doctor’s visits and will connect participants to community services that they are eligible to receive.

Women and Children’s Health Service also partners with the national Cribs for Kids program and coordinates the Nurse-Family Partnership program.

Cribs for Kids provides participants with education, awareness and cribs in an effort to stop infant deaths and injury in the sleeping environment.

The Nurse-Family Partnership program offers free nurse home-visiting to help first-time, low-income parents with pregnancy, infancy and toddler hood. It also teaches parents how to get the most out of their prenatal care, learn essential parenting skills, gain confidence in their own abilities as parents, and learn about important health issues.

For more information about Crozer-Keystone Healthy Start, Cribs for Kids or the Nurse-Family Partnership, call (610) 497-7460 or w&chs@crozer.org.