Newborn Safety Bundle to Prevent Falls and Promote Safe Sleep.

Area of Science:

• Neonatal care
• Patient safety
• Maternal-child health

Background:

• Newborns in Baby-Friendly hospitals often face unsafe sleep situations, particularly when mothers fall asleep while breastfeeding in bed.
• Rooming-in policies increase the likelihood of mothers sleeping with their infants, posing a fall risk.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a newborn infant safety bundle.
• To reduce unsafe sleep situations and prevent infant falls in a hospital setting.

Main Methods:

• An infant at-risk-to-fall instrument was used for data collection before bundle implementation.
• The safety bundle included a parent safety agreement, education on safe sleep, and a reporting system for falls.
• Data were collected quarterly over four quarters, from March 2015 to June 2016.

Main Results:

• Initially, 14% of infants were in at-risk-to-fall situations, with over half of mothers asleep while holding their baby.
• Following bundle implementation, unsafe sleep situations trended downward.
• No infant falls were reported from June 2015 to May 2017.

Conclusions:

• Enhancing parental awareness, understanding, and engagement in safe sleep practices is crucial.
• The developed safety bundle effectively promotes a safer infant environment within the hospital.
• Proactive safety measures can significantly decrease risks for newborns.