{"id":15907,"date":"2025-10-06T09:47:42","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T13:47:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/?page_id=15907"},"modified":"2025-10-06T09:47:42","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T13:47:42","slug":"richmond-and-henrico-health-districts-and-henrico-department-of-social-services-promote-safe-infant-sleep","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-regional-news-releases\/richmond-and-henrico-health-districts-and-henrico-department-of-social-services-promote-safe-infant-sleep\/","title":{"rendered":"Richmond and Henrico Health Districts and Henrico Department of Social Services Promote Safe Infant Sleep"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>October 6, 2025<\/p>\n<p><strong>Media Contact:<\/strong> Bryan Hooten, 804-807-1727, <a href=\"mailto:bryan.hooten@vdh.virginia.gov\">bryan.hooten@vdh.virginia.gov<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Richmond and Henrico Health Districts and Henrico Department of Social Services Promote Safe Infant Sleep<br \/>\n<\/strong><em>October is SIDS Awareness Month<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>RICHMOND, Va.<\/strong> \u2013 In support of <a href=\"https:\/\/safetosleep.nichd.nih.gov\/about\">Sudden Infant Death Syndrome<\/a> (SIDS) Awareness Month, Richmond and Henrico Health Districts (RHHD) partners with Henrico Department of Social Services (HDSS) to encourage expecting and new parents and caregivers to talk with their pediatrician or other healthcare provider about creating a safe sleep environment for children under the age of two.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAwareness is one of the strongest tools we have to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome,\u201d said Richmond and Henrico Health Districts Maternity Navigation Program Coordinator Adranae Mena. \u201cRHHD provides safe sleep education through the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/child-passenger-safety\/low-income-safety-seat-program\/\">Low-Income Safety Seat Program<\/a>. We provide families with the right equipment for their vehicles and the knowledge to protect infants in their crib or bassinet. Through partnerships, education, and community support, RHHD gives parents and caregivers the confidence and resources they need to help infants sleep safely.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs a community in Henrico, we equip parents and caregivers with safe practices for infant naps and overnight sleep,\u201d said Henrico County Department of Social Services Assistant Director of Service Programs Mandi Green. \u201cCreating consistent habits\u2014having babies sleep alone, on their backs, and in a crib\u2014will promote the health and well-being of our youngest residents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>RHHD and HDSS offer the following tips for creating a safe sleep environment: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Always place babies on their backs for naps and when they go to sleep at night.<\/li>\n<li>Make sure the sleep surface is firm, flat, level, and covered only with a fitted sheet.<\/li>\n<li>Share a room with babies for at least the first six months. Give babies their own sleep space (crib, bassinet, or portable play yard) in your room, separate from your bed.<\/li>\n<li>Take the <a href=\"https:\/\/safetosleep.nichd.nih.gov\/resources\/toolkit\/clearthecrib\">#ClearTheCrib Challenge<\/a> and remove any extra items in the sleep area including soft objects, toys, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cpsc.gov\/Business--Manufacturing\/Business-Education\/Business-Guidance\/Crib-Bumpers#:~:text=The%20law%20makes%20it%20unlawful,at%2016%20CFR%20part%201309.\">crib<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cpsc.gov\/Business--Manufacturing\/Business-Education\/Business-Guidance\/Crib-Bumpers#:~:text=The%20law%20makes%20it%20unlawful,at%2016%20CFR%20part%201309.\">bumpers<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For more tips and information, visit the National Institutes of Health <a href=\"https:\/\/safetosleep.nichd.nih.gov\/reduce-risk\/reduce\">Safe to Sleep campaign<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In 2022, there were about 3,700 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/sudden-infant-death\/about\/index.html\">sudden unexpected infant deaths (SUID)<\/a> in the U.S. 1,040 of those deaths were from accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed. In 2023, there were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/Annual-Report-2023.pdf\">69 cases of SUID<\/a> in Virginia.<\/p>\n<p>Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/rhhd.gov\/\">rhhd.gov<\/a> for more health and safety information. Follow RHHD on Instagram (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/richmondcity_hd\">@richmondcity_hd<\/a>) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RichmondHenricoHealthDistricts\">Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>###<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>October 6, 2025 Media Contact: Bryan Hooten, 804-807-1727, bryan.hooten@vdh.virginia.gov Richmond and Henrico Health Districts and Henrico Department of Social Services Promote Safe Infant Sleep October is SIDS Awareness Month RICHMOND, Va. \u2013 In support of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Awareness Month, Richmond and Henrico Health Districts (RHHD) partners with Henrico Department of Social Services [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":258,"featured_media":0,"parent":12292,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[1269,1268,682,1270,751],"class_list":["post-15907","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","tag-adranae-mena","tag-low-income-safety-seat-program","tag-richmond-and-henrico-health-districts","tag-safe-to-sleep-campaign","tag-sudden-infant-death-syndrome"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Richmond and Henrico Health Districts and Henrico Department of Social Services Promote Safe Infant Sleep - Newsroom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-regional-news-releases\/richmond-and-henrico-health-districts-and-henrico-department-of-social-services-promote-safe-infant-sleep\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Richmond and Henrico Health Districts and Henrico Department of Social Services Promote Safe Infant Sleep - Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"October 6, 2025 Media Contact: Bryan Hooten, 804-807-1727, bryan.hooten@vdh.virginia.gov Richmond and Henrico Health Districts and Henrico Department of Social Services Promote Safe Infant Sleep October is SIDS Awareness Month RICHMOND, Va. \u2013 In support of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Awareness Month, Richmond and Henrico Health Districts (RHHD) partners with Henrico Department of Social Services [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-regional-news-releases\/richmond-and-henrico-health-districts-and-henrico-department-of-social-services-promote-safe-infant-sleep\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/public-relations-contacts\\\/archived-news-releases\\\/2025-regional-news-releases\\\/richmond-and-henrico-health-districts-and-henrico-department-of-social-services-promote-safe-infant-sleep\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/public-relations-contacts\\\/archived-news-releases\\\/2025-regional-news-releases\\\/richmond-and-henrico-health-districts-and-henrico-department-of-social-services-promote-safe-infant-sleep\\\/\",\"name\":\"Richmond and Henrico Health Districts and Henrico Department of Social Services Promote Safe Infant Sleep - Newsroom\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-06T13:47:42+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/public-relations-contacts\\\/archived-news-releases\\\/2025-regional-news-releases\\\/richmond-and-henrico-health-districts-and-henrico-department-of-social-services-promote-safe-infant-sleep\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/public-relations-contacts\\\/archived-news-releases\\\/2025-regional-news-releases\\\/richmond-and-henrico-health-districts-and-henrico-department-of-social-services-promote-safe-infant-sleep\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/public-relations-contacts\\\/archived-news-releases\\\/2025-regional-news-releases\\\/richmond-and-henrico-health-districts-and-henrico-department-of-social-services-promote-safe-infant-sleep\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Newsroom\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Archived News Releases\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/public-relations-contacts\\\/archived-news-releases\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"2025 Regional News Releases\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/public-relations-contacts\\\/archived-news-releases\\\/2025-regional-news-releases\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":5,\"name\":\"Richmond and Henrico Health Districts and Henrico Department of Social Services Promote Safe Infant Sleep\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Newsroom\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Richmond and Henrico Health Districts and Henrico Department of Social Services Promote Safe Infant Sleep - Newsroom","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-regional-news-releases\/richmond-and-henrico-health-districts-and-henrico-department-of-social-services-promote-safe-infant-sleep\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Richmond and Henrico Health Districts and Henrico Department of Social Services Promote Safe Infant Sleep - Newsroom","og_description":"October 6, 2025 Media Contact: Bryan Hooten, 804-807-1727, bryan.hooten@vdh.virginia.gov Richmond and Henrico Health Districts and Henrico Department of Social Services Promote Safe Infant Sleep October is SIDS Awareness Month RICHMOND, Va. \u2013 In support of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Awareness Month, Richmond and Henrico Health Districts (RHHD) partners with Henrico Department of Social Services [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-regional-news-releases\/richmond-and-henrico-health-districts-and-henrico-department-of-social-services-promote-safe-infant-sleep\/","og_site_name":"Newsroom","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-regional-news-releases\/richmond-and-henrico-health-districts-and-henrico-department-of-social-services-promote-safe-infant-sleep\/","url":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-regional-news-releases\/richmond-and-henrico-health-districts-and-henrico-department-of-social-services-promote-safe-infant-sleep\/","name":"Richmond and Henrico Health Districts and Henrico Department of Social Services Promote Safe Infant Sleep - Newsroom","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-10-06T13:47:42+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-regional-news-releases\/richmond-and-henrico-health-districts-and-henrico-department-of-social-services-promote-safe-infant-sleep\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-regional-news-releases\/richmond-and-henrico-health-districts-and-henrico-department-of-social-services-promote-safe-infant-sleep\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-regional-news-releases\/richmond-and-henrico-health-districts-and-henrico-department-of-social-services-promote-safe-infant-sleep\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Newsroom","item":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Archived News Releases","item":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"2025 Regional News Releases","item":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-regional-news-releases\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"name":"Richmond and Henrico Health Districts and Henrico Department of Social Services Promote Safe Infant Sleep"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/","name":"Newsroom","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/258"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15907"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15908,"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15907\/revisions\/15908"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}