About First Candle

First Candle began in the early 1960s as the National SIDS Foundation, later the SIDS Alliance. It became First Candle in 2002, reflecting its mission to prevent not only Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) but all sleep-related infant deaths, such as Accidental Suffocation in Bed (ASSB) and other Sudden Unexplained Infant Deaths (SUID). The name symbolizes both remembrance for infants lost and hope for all babies to reach their first birthday safely.

It was a member of the 1994 “Back to Sleep” public health campaign, led by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), with the U.S. Public Health Service and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Task Force, among others. The campaign advocated placing babies on their backs to sleep, and materials were distributed via the AAP, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, hospitals, and clinics.

By 1999 the campaign contributed to a nearly 50% drop in SIDS rates, but research indicated there was less supine infant sleep placement among Black populations. The National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI), the NICHD, First Candle and others met with Black organizations to increase outreach.

In 2007 First Candle received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for its Bedtime Basics for Babies initiative, which combined crib distribution with public and professional education over a seven-year period. A published study concluded the project was effective in changing safe infant sleep knowledge and practices in a large proportion of participants.

In 2012, First Candle was one of six groups invited to partner with the NICHD to transition Back to Sleep into Safe to Sleep®, which emphasizes safe sleep environments and back-sleeping coupled with risk reduction strategies.

First Candle programs

While the rate of SIDS-related infant mortality has been declining, rates for non-Hispanic Black, Native Alaskan and American Indian infants are higher than for non-Hispanic White infants. Additionally, the rate of SUID has quadrupled since 1984 and is three times greater in Black communities. This has been attributed to cultural, societal and economic factors that foster bed sharing and other at-risk sleep environments.

This led First Candle to create Straight Talk for Infant Safe Sleep in 2017, a training program for healthcare professionals designed to broaden their counseling to include recognizing real-world factors and perceptions that may affect families’ acceptance of infant safe sleep practices.

This was followed by the launch of Let’s Talk Community Chats in 2021, reaching parents and caregivers through partnerships with community organizations in order to provide free education and access to health care resources. Monthly sessions are held where families congregate, such as churches, community centers, and WIC offices, with professionals and peers trained through Straight Talk. In 2025 Let’s Talk expanded to include sessions in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs), working with staff and families around infant safe sleep and breastfeeding.

First Candle is also a member of the International Society for the Study and Prevention of Perinatal and Infant Death (ISPID) and in October 2025 will host the Society’s biannual conference, This event brings together researchers, educators, advocates and families together to learn of current work in infant health, breastfeeding, and bereavement.