Letter to the editor: Protect infants by making sure they’re sleeping safely

Follow ABCs

As a nurse practitioner, I want all infants in the safest sleep condition possible. That is why I am so excited we are starting 2020 with the support of four major retailers that have banned inclined sleepers on their websites.

Walmart, Buy Buy Baby, Amazon and eBay took a huge step toward combating infant mortality by supporting the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines that say infants should be flat on their backs when asleep.

Each year, more than 3,500 infants in the United States die while sleeping. In the Kansas City region, we lose 20 to 25 kids — the equivalent of a kindergarten class — every year simply because they are laid down to sleep in unsafe positions.

I hope this momentum will soon get these dangerous inclined sleepers off the market entirely. In the meantime, parents need to be informed to keep themselves and their children safe until all retailers step up and remove these items.

Remember, saving the lives of the tiniest among us can be as easy as ABC — the ABCs of safe sleep: always Alone, always on the Back and always in a Crib.

- Cristy Toburen, Shawnee

This story was originally published January 21, 2020 at 5:00 AM.