Delivering Safe Infant Sleep Practices to the Valley's Pregnant Youth

Following the publication of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) prevention guidelines in 1992, and the subsequent Back to Sleep campaign in 1994, SIDS-related deaths in the U.S. have decreased by more than half. However, since 2001, this trend has plateaued, and today, thousands of families suffer the unexpected death of their infant. This creative project aims to explore the risks that infants of adolescent mothers face in regard to SIDS-related deaths, and to deliver safe infant sleep guidelines to a group of pregnant teenagers in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Incorporated into the teen childbirth education courses at Chandler Regional Medical Center, this project delivered evidence-based guidance in hopes of providing the prospective mothers the knowledge and confidence to adopt safe infant sleep practices into their lives.