A gift from the St. Louis Children’s Hospital Foundation has helped nurses in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) promote safe sleep practices for babies in the NICU and upon their discharge from the hospital. The Foundation’s gift funds the purchase of Halo SleepSackä Swaddles, which carry the First Candle SIDS Alliance seal of approval. The sleep sacks’ design combines a wearable blanket and a swaddle attached to the blanket with Velcro. The swaddle may be removed once babies outgrow the need for it.
“The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends any loose materials be removed from cribs so there is nothing that could get caught around babies’ heads and cause rebreathing,” says Jeanne Giebe, MSN, NNP, RN. “The Halo SleepSack uses Velcro loops to secure the swaddle tightly enough so that babies have a difficult time wiggling their way free. The Velcro feature allows the swaddle to be secured at the shoulders, lower down on the arms and under the arms. And the sack design of the wearable blanket keeps babies warm without the need for any other covering.”
The Halo SleepSacks are used in the NICU, and each baby receives a gift of two brand-new SleepSacks embroidered with the SLCH logo —one cotton and one fleece —upon their discharge. “Studies show that parents’ perception of safe sleep practices is greatly influenced by the care their babies receive from hospital nurses,” says Giebe. “We try to start using the sleep sacks two to three weeks prior to a baby’s discharge so the parents have time to learn that their babies are fine sleeping on their backs and are comfortable being swaddled. Our gift of these sleep sacks encourages parents to continue these safe practices at home.”
Halo SleepSacks will soon be available at a reduced cost in the hospital’s gift shop and Safety Stop store. Eventually SLCH plans to give the sleep sacks upon discharge to all babies younger than 3 months old.