Safer Portsmouth Babies campaign to be re-launched

A campaign to reduce the number of sudden infant deaths in Portsmouth was so successful it will be re-launched next month across Hampshire, Southampton and the Isle of Wight.

In 2007 Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust joined forces with other health organisations and Hampshire Police to start Safer Portsmouth Babies Campaign – a public awareness campaign to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death

The campaign was so successful that in 2008/09 there were no Sudden Infant Deaths in Portsmouth.

On 7 October the campaign – now renamed Safer Babies – will start again and be rolled out across Hampshire.

Like the campaign two years ago, the scheme will aim to better inform health visitors and midwives along with parents about the risks of co-sleeping as well as other key messages about reducing the risks to babies.

Tina Scarborough, Named Midwife for Safeguarding Children at Portsmouth Hospitals, said: “The campaign will start in Portsmouth as a celebration of what we have achieved and then it will go out to other areas of the county.

“Babies should sleep in a cot in the same room as their parents for the first six months and they should sleep on their backs with their feet pointing to the foot of the bed so their heads can not become covered. Co-sleeping on a sofa is particularly high risk and should always be avoided.”

Special training sessions will be available to staff and leaflets and bibs will be given to new parents. The campaign aims to highlight to parents and other carers of young children some of the risks associated with Sudden Infant Death and how to reduce those risks

As the campaign runs throughout the year it will also highlight other health issues such as smoking and alcohol that could have an impact a baby’s health and wellbeing.

Mrs Scarborough added: “The campaign has been very successful over the last two years and any death of a child is a tragedy and we would like to see the number of families having to cope with this type of tragedy reduce across the whole area.”

“Portsmouth has been leading the way locally on this initiative and we want to help as many parents as we can avoid putting their babies at risk".