Perceptions and Use of Safe Sleep Baby Boxes at Hospital Discharge by New Mothers

A large community hospital in South Texas began distributing safe sleep baby boxes to reduce sudden unexplained infant death (SUID) in 2017.

To describe safe sleep practices among new mothers who received a safe sleep baby box at hospital discharge.

An information sheet containing a link to an online survey was mailed to all women who received a safe sleep baby box prior to discharge from the hospital from January 2018 to January 2019.

N = 84 women participated. Most reported using the safe sleep baby box only during nap time (n = 62, 88.6%). Only 70.2% of participants reported that baby always slept their back (n = 59). Most reported their baby did not use a pacifier (n = 62, 73.8%), and many reported they were not breastfeeding their baby (n = 38, 45.2%).

Many women were not using the safe sleep baby box as intended and were not following many of the other safe sleep guidelines. Nurses should ask their patients about plans for infant safe sleep after discharge to provide individualized education or recommend specific resources to address the family's needs.