Parents in Milwaukee continue to sleep with infants, despite several tragic cases. So far in 2010, five babies have suffocated from bed sharing or co-sleeping with adults. Each year in Milwaukee about two dozen babies die because of the practice. Those numbers have prompted the health department to launch a massive awareness campaign. WUWM’s Marti Mikkelson met a couple mothers the city is targeting.
Milwaukee has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the country and many of those deaths are preventable, according to Anna Benton. She’s director of family and community services for the Milwaukee Health Department. One cause of death she says that could be eliminated is co-sleeping.
“We know some parents bed share because they can’t afford a crib or there might not be space in their homes. Others might bed share as a choice because they think it facilitates breast feeding. A lot of the families that we do home visits for are very transient so they might not be able to bring a crib or Pack ‘n’ Play with them if they’re moving very frequently,” Benton says.
Kenyette Johnson is 15 years old and just gave birth to her son in January. Social Worker Darcy Dubois is helping the young mom set up a Pack ‘n’ Play at her home on the near south side. Dubois is also quizzing Johnson about the rules of safe sleeping.
Dubois: When you put him to sleep now, what do you do?
Johnson: I put him on his back with no pillows and no blankets in the cribs.
Dubois: And where is the pack n play?
Johnson: In my room, right next to my bed.
Dubois: Right next to your bed? Great.
The young mom says while she’s never brought her newborn into bed for the night, she does occasionally nap with him on the living room couch. She says it happens when she’s exhausted after feeding him.
“It won’t go on for hours or a long time. Just a little while. If I’m sitting here, I’ll just doze off a little bit and then I wake back up,” Johnson says.
Johnson lives with her mother, and says co-sleeping is a tradition in her family. In fact, she says she has to constantly discourage her mom from bringing her grandson into bed.
“I told my mom no, you can’t sleep with my baby. Put him down in his crib. She said oh I raised two kids, I can do it but I told her no. If you’re going to do that, give me my baby,” Johnson says.
That’s the kind of awareness Milwaukee’s community campaign hopes to raise about the risks of co-sleeping. The city is sending workers into homes like this to talk with parents and give them a portable crib, if they don’t have a bed for the baby. The 15-year-old asked for a Pack ‘n’ Play, so she can take it to the baby’s father’s house.
While we’re sitting in the living room, sister-in-law Mariana Fonseca mentions that she’s been sharing a bed with her one-year-old son. That’s because Fonseca has temporarily moved in with Johnson.
“His bed is still at my other house. I haven’t had time yet to go get his bed,” Fonseca says.
For the time being, the young women agree to keep the Pack n’ Play at Johnson’s house, so Fonseca’s baby can use the bed until his crib arrives. Hundreds of parents have taken advantage of the free Pack ‘n’ Plays that the city is also making available at health centers. The Health Department’s Anna Benton says radio ads and provocative billboards seem to be sparking interest.
“We get calls from consumers, we get calls from hospital systems, from clinics, from social workers. There’s a lot of information out there about us,” Benton says.
Benton says grants and private donations are currently footing the bill for the program, rather than taxpayer dollars. The city is seeking additional help from an outside source to keep the campaign going.
Share / Email
Print
Download
Email a Friend
Facebook
Del.icio.us
Stumble Upon
Digg
Newsvine
