This month, CHRISTUS Health is observing Baby Safety Month and providing tips on how to ease the everyday stress for new parents.

CHRISTUS Health offers free prenatal classes and discharge education to help families prepare for life with a newborn. These resources are available to the community, even for those not delivering at a CHRISTUS hospital.

“We want families to feel confident and informed as they welcome a new baby,” said Allie Keith, registered nurse and certified childbirth educator for CHRISTUS Shreveport-Bossier Health System. “We’ll bring in those new parents and educate them on everything that’s labor, delivery, postpartum and newborn care.”

Keith and other CHRISTUS certified childbirth educators are experts on baby safety, understanding the importance of new parents knowing the risks their child faces daily.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4. Babies and young children should be actively supervised around all bodies of water.
“If you’re around a pool with a young child, they need to have on a flotation device and you need to have a designated watcher,” Keith said. “Babies can drown very quickly, so you want to make sure that they aren’t even around buckets of water without your supervision.”

Keith also said that water temperature is important to keep in mind. To prevent scalding, be sure to check bath water using the back of your wrist or elbow before washing your baby.

Choking prevention should be a top priority for new parents as well.

Kimberly McDaniel, clinical director of pediatrics at CHRISTUS St. Michael Hospital, said that introducing solid food too early can be dangerous for babies.

“We don’t usually introduce solid foods until around 6 months,” she said. “But as they grow older, you want to make sure you’re cutting up foods like hot dogs and grapes.”

Babies are naturally curious, and they tend to explore by putting things in their mouths. Common items like coins, buttons and small toys or figurines are considered choking hazards and should be kept out of reach.

At the end of the day, sleep safety should be at the forefront of every parent’s mind. Babies should sleep with no loose bedding, pillows or stuffed animals to prevent suffocation, and the room should be kept between 68-72 degrees to avoid overheating.

“Practicing safe sleep habits is one of our top focus points for reducing the risk of sudden infant death syndrome,” McDaniel said. “We recommend the ABCs of safe sleep: babies should sleep Alone, on their Back, and in a Crib.”

For more information on baby safety and available resources, visit its website.