Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin today joined First Lady Joanne Jaeger Tomblin to proclaim September as ‘Infant Safe Sleep Month,’ part of West Virginia’s Our Babies: Safe and Sound campaign, a statewide educational program to support parents and caregivers of infants with the support they need to keep babies safe while sleeping with a special emphasis on preventing Shaken Baby Syndrome.
“I’m proud West Virginia joins a number of states across the country to raise awareness of the important steps parents can take when caring for their sleeping children,” Gov. Tomblin said. “West Virginia’s Our Babies: Safe and Sound campaign is making a difference in communities across the Mountain State by working with hospitals and community partners to help parents identify unsafe sleep practices while providing resources they can use to create a safe sleeping space.”
As part of Infant Safe Sleep Month and West Virginia’s Our Babies: Safe and Sound statewide campaign, First Lady Joanne Jaeger Tomblin also announced a tour of partner hospitals across West Virginia participating in the educational programs. The campaign is a project of TEAM for West Virginia Children and the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.
“Unsafe sleep conditions are a leading cause of death for West Virginia infants in the first year of life,” First Lady Tomblin said. “By working with hospitals across the state to make parents and caregivers aware of conditions that lead to unsafe sleep and providing them with educational resources, I hope we can encourage parents to learn more about this important topic, in turn saving the lives of West Virginia children.”
This Friday, First Lady Tomblin will visit Princeton Community Hospital and Bluefield Regional Hospital and present each hospital with a proclamation recognizing their continued partnership and supporting infant safe sleep events as part of the Our Babies: Safe and Sound campaign. Upcoming awareness events include:
- Thursday, September 11, 10 a.m. – Cabell Huntington Hospital, Harless Auditorium
- Friday, September 19, 10 a.m. – United Hospital Center, Conference Rooms 1 &2,
- Friday, September 26, 10 a.m. – Ohio Valley Medical Center, Main Lobby
To read the proclamation, click here. To learn more about the Our Babies: Safe and Sound campaign, click here.
