(La Porte, IN) - A campaign has been waged to reduce infant mortality in La Porte County.

 

A significant focus of the effort will be on unsafe sleeping because ten babies a year in La Porte County, on average, die from things like parents and other caregivers sleeping with infants.

 

An adult sleeping on a bed or couch can roll over and suffocate the baby, said retired physician Dr. Gary Wheeland, a board member at the Healthcare Foundation of La Porte.

 

HFL is leading the charge in the effort to reduce one of the highest infant mortality rates in the state.

 

Wheeland said an infant needs to be placed on their back in a crib with a firm mattress covered by a tightly pulled sheet to avoid the potential of suffocating.

 

"What we don't want is co-sleeping. Co-sleeping is where the baby is sleeping in a bed, on a couch, or somewhere with the parent where they are at risk," Wheeland said.

 

A few weeks ago, a toddler dropped between two mattresses placed next to each other and suffocated on Monroe Street in La Porte.

 

Mary Wellnitz, special projects manager with HFL, said the key to reducing infant mortality is the community reaching out and educating the public.

 

"You are a little news media going out and making sure you're talking to grandparents, aunts, uncles. The physicians are talking to pregnant women during pregnancy, at the time of birth as well as after delivery and leaving the hospital," Wellnitz said.

 

The campaign will also include ongoing education about things like not smoking and drinking during and after pregnancy to prevent other forms of infant death.

 

La Porte County has the fifth worst infant mortality rate in the state, with more than 11 out of every 1,000 babies not surviving their first year. That's nearly twice the average rate in the state and nationwide.

 

Wellnitz said correcting unsafe sleeping arrangements would significantly reduce La Porte County's overall infant mortality rate.