We thank Lauren McDaniel, a community member in our bereavement support group, for allowing us to repost her blog post. FEBRUARY 2, 2021 BY LAUREN MCDANIEL The day after Maddie died, I remember specifically asking “Will we ever be OK again?” In those first hours, and days, and even weeks, there were so many moments when I […]
Get a head start on Valentine’s Day with an evening of chocolate, music and love. Join us on Tuesday, February 9th at 8P when you and your partner can learn how to make and create three decadent Hot Cocoa Bombs. If you’ve never heard of these before, they’re delicious artisanal creations that are dropped into […]
WHEN: Thursday, December 10th, 7-8:30PM EST Join us for another Zoom event sampling three whiskeys from Woodinville Whiskey Co. accompanied with infused chocolate bonbons and truffles from Yelibelly Chocolates. Renee George will be discussing the history of Woodinville distillery and what led to them earning “Craft Whiskey of the Year” and “Craft Rye Whiskey of […]
Andrew F. Rubenstein, MD, MPH, has joined the Board of Directors of New Canaan-based First Candle, it was announced by CEO Alison Jacobson and Board Chair David Cunningham. Dr. Rubenstein is the newly appointed Chair, Obstetrics and Gynecology for the Dignity Health Medical Group at Saint Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center (SJHMC) in Phoenix, Arizona. This […]
First Candle, the national non-profit committed to ending Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths (SUID), has announced it is undertaking an initiative to collect input from communities of color to and share with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) as it updates the Safe Sleep Guidelines, for release in 2021.
First Candle is committed to ensuring that every baby gets to his or her first birthday and beyond. Far too many babies are still dying and sadly a disproportionate number are Black babies. What’s more, Black mothers are 3x more likely to die during or immediately after childbirth. The stress of structural racism is a […]
Join us for a virtual Walk/Run challenge And help us support grieving moms and dads Every year over 27,000 families will experience the death of a baby from Sudden Unexpected Infant Death or Stillbirth. For these families, the support of friends and relatives is what helps them get through this devastating time. Sadly now, […]
Knowledge is still unfolding, but the The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has issued an advisory on the Novel Coronavirus, or COVID-19; here are the excerpts on breastfeeding and pregnancy: Pregnancy: very little is known right now on COVID-19’s effect on pregnant women and infants, and it is not clear if COVID-19 can […]
Needless to say, everyone is nervous about the Coronavirus but there is always a great deal of misinformation that can spread. We asked First Candle’s Board of Director Dr. John Cianella, Director of the Division of Neonatology at Stamford Health to provide us with the facts to share with our community: Human Coronaviruses are a […]
The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM) has recently issued a 2019 revised protocol around the benefits and risks of bedsharing for breastfeeding mothers and their infants. First Candle realizes this may raise questions for some families, so we would like to put it in context with our approaches to infant safe sleep, which adhere to […]
16 years ago my son died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. He was 3 mos. and 24 days old. That day, I wasn’t sure how, or even if, I wanted to survive. I hardly remember anything from the days leading up to his memorial service and even less of the service itself and the sea […]
The United States is often assumed to be one of the safest places in the world in which to give birth. But the truth is, national maternal mortality rates have been steadily climbing for decades. In fact, the prevalence of pregnancy-related maternal deaths has more than doubled in the US since 1987, from 7.2 deaths […]
Longtime donor The Boppy Company has confirmed its 2019 support for First Candle and their mission of reducing the rates of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and other sleep-related infant deaths according to First Candle CEO Alison Jacobson. The national non-profit organization has been leading the way for over 40 years in educating parents and caregivers […]
Once again, Natalie Kroft with Keep Collective has generously teamed up with First Candle and created some very special Mother’s Day jewelry. Various pieces are available that can be inscribed with “Always A Mom.” “For many moms in our community whose baby has died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or other sleep-related infant death or […]
This weekend was an exciting time for our team. Over the weekend we conducted a two-day training with three women who will now be First Candle Ambassadors and conduct our Straight Talk for Infant Safe Sleep Trainings. We are proud to introduce you to Jen Ciannella, Carol Jordan and Dauline Singletary. Each has a public […]
First Candle has once again been named an Official Charity Partner of the 2019 TCS New York City Marathon. The race will take place on Sunday, November 3, 2019. For those runners who did not get a bib through the lottery, they can secure one and become part of Team First Candle running in the […]
We’re pleased to announce that Byron Johnson, a public relations and issues advocacy professional, has joined the First Candle Board of Directors. With nearly 20 years of experience creating and implementing awareness and social marketing campaigns, he brings to First Candle a desire to help families – with an emphasis on African American families and […]
The loss of a child is devastating and leaves parents incapable of functioning for many weeks. They need time to grieve and to begin healing. First Candle is proud to support the Parental Bereavement Leave Act, prompted by The Farley-Kluger Initiative—a movement which began in 2011 to amend FMLA to allow up to 12 weeks […]
New Canaan, CT – The following is a statement from First Candle CEO and Executive Director Alison Jacobson regarding NICHD’s decision to release a strategic plan that excludes resources to battle SIDS. “The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development’s (NICHD) decision to release a strategic plan that places no priority […]
For those of us who have lost a child the holidays are always a difficult time. Sure, we put on a good act for our other kids and even our family because, to be honest, they couldn’t handle our grief year after year. After several years, we appear “normal” (whatever that means) but the grief […]
New and energetic channels of communications between federal and regional groups opened up on November 5 when First Candle hosted a day-long Safe Sleep and Breastfeeding Forum at Stamford Hospital, fostering new relationships to help advance the Safe Sleep Guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The event brought representatives from the Centers for […]
Last week I was at a meeting of my book club – my bookclub is like everyone else’s – we get together so that we talk about everything BUT that book we all didn’t read. Our club is made up of a group of women who are connected kind of peripherally, with some knowing each […]
We at First Candle are reaching out to let you know of a promising piece of legislation now under review by the U.S. Congress, focused on improving resources devoted to improving better understanding and awareness around unexpected sudden death early in life, including SIDS and other sleep-related infant deaths. Known as Scarlett’s Sunshine Act (H.R. […]
We ‘re so excited when companies and influencers are willing to help spread the word about infant safe sleep in order to reduce the rate of SIDS and other sleep-related infant deaths such as accidental suffocation. Halo, a long-time supporter of First Candle has always been committed to safe sleep and in fact was founded […]
Five Companies Earn the Designation by Committing to Only Showing Babies in a Safe Sleep Environment September 12, 2018, New Canaan, Conn. — First Candle, the national non-profit organization committed to ending Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and other sleep-related infant deaths, announced today the launch of the Safe Sleep Guardian program, designed to urge […]
Dress Your Baby #Safe2Sleep
In early August Barb Himes, First Candle’s Director of Education and Training, spoke at the 46th annual conference of the National Black Nurses Association, presenting an overview of our Straight Talk for Infant Sleep program, which follows the Safe Sleep Guidelines developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. First Candle launched Straight Talk in 2017, […]
We are thrilled to announce that John F. Ciannella, MD has joined the First Candle Board of Directors. Dr. Ciannella is a fellowship-trained and board-certified neonatologist who since 2008 cares for newborn infants, specifically, babies who are born premature or diagnosed with complex medical and rare conditions and those who are critically ill. Dr. Ciannella […]
Saturday, August 4, 2018 was a beautiful morning for this year’s Bella Rose Strides for Babies 5K held in Cary, NC in memory of Bella Rose Diaz, daughter of Mike and Amy Diaz, who died from SIDS in May 2011. Adults, kids and dogs all lined up at 8:00 a.m. to start the walk/run; while […]
This week is World Breastfeeding Week and at First Candle we are actively working to get the message out about the benefits of breastfeeding. This is something we discuss in our Straight Talk for Infant Safe Sleep programs and were surprised that over 66% of participants in our trainings weren’t aware that breastfeeding can significantly […]
First Candle Presents Overview of Safe Sleep Program at Black Nurses Conference Last week First Candle’s Director of Education and Training attended the National Black Nurses Association, Black Nurses Conference and presented an overview of Straight Talk for Infant Safe Sleep. This program addresses the obstacles and objections parent’s face in following the Safe Sleep guidelines […]
In June 2018, Barbara Himes, our Director of Education and Training, attended the 2018 International Conference on Stillbirth, SIDS and Baby Survival in Glasgow, Scotland, where she presented our program, Straight Talk for Infant Safe Sleep, to a gathering of health care professionals, parents and SIDS researchers from around the world. She stressed Straight Talk’s […]
According to a USA TODAY investigative report released in July 2018, thousands of women every year suffer serious injury or death during childbirth due to ignored safety practices, making it especially important that women take an active interest in their own care. More than 50,000 women a year are injured and about 700 mothers die, […]
Today the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report announcing that infant mortality rates have dropped by 15% and the rate of SIDS by 29%. That’s a huge success for those of us working in the field of infant health and survival. While this should be celebrated, there’s still a great deal of […]
