Straight Talk for Infant Safe Sleep Program

Our Straight Talk for Infant Safe Sleep Program is run by First Candle for healthcare professionals. 

While evidence has shown that placing a baby in a safe sleep environment every time can dramatically reduce the rate of SIDS and accidental suffocation, many parents and caregivers do not consistently adhere to these recommendations.  When looking at why this happens, it often turns out that it is due to factors including economic, cultural and societal issues, and the parents’ unique circumstances and obstacles to creating a safe sleep environment are rarely acknowledged.  Additionally, parents and caregivers have rarely been given  the reasoning or the “whys” behind  the recommendations. Rather they’ve simply been presented as “rules.”

Healthcare providers may themselves not realize that their approaches to working with parents may be influenced by systemic racism or assumptions about socioeconomic behaviors.  But without inviting a dialogue about the unique challenges a parent faces or providing follow-up to help with solutions and support, parental adherence to regular prenatal check-ups and healthy pregnancy habits, adoption of safe sleep practices and breastfeeding remains low. This is critical because prenatal care has been shown to reduce rates of low birthweight and preterm birth, which put infants at greater risk for SIDS, and infant safe sleep, and breastfeeding have also been shown to reduce sleep-related infant mortality rates.

First Candle has developed the Straight Talk for Infant Safe Sleep Program in order to train healthcare professionals and address these concerns. Qualified participants may earn three contact hours for in-person training and 1.5 hours for virtual.

How the Program Works

Through role-play, participants will gain an understanding of how to create a two-way conversation with parents to first identify family practices and beliefs, provide accurate information about safe sleep and breastfeeding,  gain acceptance of these practices and, finally, problem solve how it might be accomplished when there are obstacles.

Trainees will also learn how to help parents create a plan about how they can implement safe sleep and breastfeeding that considers their beliefs, values, and living and working situations, so they feel equipped to be successful.

Interested in our Straight Talk Program?

For more information on Straight Talk for Infant Safe Sleep or to have our trainers visit your healthcare facility, please contact Barb@firstcandle.org.