AAP grants cut and the impact on safe sleep will be significant
As was reported in the Washington Post, yesterday the Department of Health and Human Services terminated seven major grants to the American Academy of Pediatrics, grants that supported foundational child health priorities, including reducing sudden infant deaths, rural access to care, mental health, birth defects, early autism identification, and the prevention of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
These cuts were justified by HHS officials using a rationale that should concern all of us working in maternal and infant health.
Why the Grants Were Terminated
Administration officials stated that the grants no longer aligned with agency priorities. In termination letters, federal officials specifically objected to the AAP’s use of what they called “identity-based language.” This included references to:
- racial disparities
- “pregnant people”
- commitments to “diverse perspectives in clinical care and public health materials”
- statements acknowledging that “disparities caused by racism and poverty are only exacerbated during emergencies”
As Jamie Legier, director of the CDC’s Office of Grants Services, wrote:
“These elements are not incidental; they are woven through the title, narrative and work plans of your organization’s award project… As such, your organization’s activities are no longer in alignment with the stated HHS and CDC priority areas.”
Three of the terminated grants came from the CDC; four were from HRSA — agencies historically central to maternal and child health.
What Was Lost
According to AAP CEO Mark Del Monte:
“This vital work spanned multiple child health priorities, including reducing sudden infant death, rural access to health care, mental health, adolescent health, supporting children with birth defects, early identification of autism, and prevention of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.”
These grants didn’t fund a standalone “safe sleep program,” but they supported the infrastructure that ensures evidence-based infant safety guidance reaches providers and families.
This loss comes at a time when families already face multiple barriers to receiving consistent, culturally attuned safe sleep information.
Why This Matters for Safe Sleep
The AAP holds the responsibility for developing and updating the nation’s safe sleep guidelines.
While those guidelines remain intact, the ability to disseminate and operationalize them, especially in communities most affected by sleep-related infant deaths, relies heavily on partnerships, training, and communication channels that these terminated grants helped support.
As Greta Massetti, former principal deputy director of CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, stated:
“Groups such as AAP translate evidence into clinical guidance, support frontline providers, and help ensure that public health recommendations reach children and families in real-world settings. Abruptly canceling grants that support these partnerships risks weakening the infrastructure that connects science, practice, and prevention.”
In other words: when this infrastructure is weakened, safe sleep guidance does not reach the families who need it most.
This Comes on Top of the NICHD Closure
Earlier this year, the closure of the NICHD Safe to Sleep leadership eliminated the federal backbone of national safe sleep messaging.
Now, with the AAP losing key federal funding, our country faces its most fragile moment in decades for ensuring that families receive consistent, evidence-based, culturally responsive safe sleep guidance.
And families who are already struggling — with housing, food insecurity, healthcare access, postpartum mental health, and systemic inequities — will feel these impacts most acutely.
Now, Our Work Becomes Even More Critical
At First Candle, we recognize exactly what this moment means.
With federal infrastructure eroding, our role in reaching families with judgment-free, community-based safe sleep education has never been more essential.
We will continue:
- facilitating Let’s Talk Community Chats
- supporting families in crisis and those affected by SUID
- training providers who depend on reliable, up-to-date guidance
- ensuring safe sleep education remains grounded in equity, lived experience, and compassion
This moment is not just about grant terminations.
It is about a shift in national priorities that puts infants, especially the most vulnerable, at greater risk.
And it reinforces why the work we do together is so critical.
