DFPS urges parents to practice 'safe sleep' as it gets colder

The Texas Department of Family Protective Services (DFPS) urges parents to practice ‘safe sleep’ as colder temperatures sweep into Central Texas.

As of Dec. 1, DFPS staff have investigated 31 deaths related to unsafe sleep in Fiscal Year 2021, which began in September.

Texas DFPS officials are asking parents and caregivers to ensure children remain safe during sleep as colder temperatures settle into Central Texas.

“Don’t think it won’t happen to you,”  DFPS Investigations/Alternative Response Program Administrator Lisa Guyton said. “I’ve been out as a worker on so many cases and supervised so many cases where families don’t think it will happen to them. They think they are light sleepers, and it’s not a big deal to sleep in their bed with their baby.”

Texas typically sees the highest number of deaths related to unsafe sleeping environments during the three-month window from December through February each year.

Safe sleep means ensuring infants are able to breathe during bedtime and naptime, according to DFPS. Babies should always sleep in their cribs in a cool room. They should be alone in their crib, but preferably in the same room as their caregiver, and on their backs, rather than their sides or stomach.

Cribs need to have a firm mattress with a tight-fitting bottom sheet, and no blankets or other bedding, including bumpers. The environment should also be free of smoke.

In the past five fiscal years, DFPS has investigated 791 unsafe sleep deaths. However, additional cases are reported each year to the Texas Department of State Health Services through death certificates, which may not have been referred to DFPS for investigation.

Since 2016, DFPS has investigated an average of 158 unsafe sleep deaths each year.

Guyton said one of the main concerns workers see during colder months is parents piling blankets around children, wrapping them up, or using heavy blankets.

“A lot of people also want fancy or cute bumpers and blankets in the bed, but it’s just not safe for children,” Guyton said. “It should literally be just one flat fitted sheet in there.”

She said pediatricians recommend using a fitted onesie sleeper that is appropriate for the temperature inside a home, and urged parents to not be complacent at bedtime.

When asked about how sleeping habits relate to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Guyton said, “Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is the unexplained death of a healthy infant. Some researchers believe that SIDS can be explained in some cases by unsafe sleep practices. There is information that shows when blankets are placed around a baby they are essentially rebreathing their own carbon monoxide which is exhaled naturally. Some research shows that is the actual cause of death, the rebreathing of carbon monoxide into an infant’s body.”

Always remember the ABCs of safe sleep: babies should sleep Alone, on their Backs, in a Crib and in a Smoke-free environment.

For more information on safe sleep and other parenting tips visit helpandhope.org.