New parents are receiving free thermometers to monitor their babies’ room temperatures as part of a campaign to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
SIDS, also known as cot death, refers to the sudden and unexplained death of an otherwise healthy infant. While rare, it remains a concern for many families.
To promote safer sleep environments, parents and caregivers in the Black Country are being given thermometers to ensure nursery temperatures stay between 16-20°C (60.8-68°F), which experts say can help prevent SIDS.
The initiative is part of Safer Sleep Week, a campaign led by the Lullaby Trust, a charity dedicated to providing safe sleep advice. The Health in Pregnancy Service at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust is distributing the thermometers, with support from the Black Country Integrated Care Board, a local NHS body.
Parents in Walsall, Wolverhampton, Dudley, and Sandwell have access to the thermometers, according to The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust. The project is also backed by the Black Country Local Maternity and Neonatal System and the Black Country Child Death Review Strategic Partnership.
Walsall mother-of-two Taylor-Jane Daley, whose youngest daughter was born on January 25, expressed her gratitude for the thermometer.
“I don’t think you realise quite how warm a room has become sometimes,” she said in a statement from the care board. “We all want to do what we can to keep our babies safe.”
The NHS advises that, in addition to maintaining a safe room temperature, babies should sleep on their backs on a firm mattress to further reduce the risk of SIDS.
The Safer Sleep Week campaign runs until Sunday.
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