Collaborators & Partners

The Safe to Sleep® campaign relies on organizational and individual Collaborators and partners to reach parents and caregivers in diverse communities with safe infant sleep messages.

On This Page

A healthcare provider (left) going over materials with a mother (right) who is holding a baby

Collaborators

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development leads the Safe to Sleep® campaign with support from the following Collaborators: 

  • American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) external link is an organization of pediatricians who are committed to the attainment of optimal physical, mental, and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In addition, the safe sleep messages outlined in Safe to Sleep® materials are based on recommendations from the AAP Task Force on SIDS. You can read the latest policy statement from the AAP Task Force on SIDS external link (2022).
  • American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) external link is an organization of obstetricians and gynecologists that advocates for quality health care for women, maintains standards of clinical practice and continuing education for its members, promotes patient education external link, and increases awareness among its members and the public of the changing issues facing women's health care. ACOG provides information for patients at https://www.acog.org/For_Patientsexternal link.
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting public health activities in the United States.
    • CDC Injury Center, Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention is a focal point for public health approaches to preventing violence and injuries and their consequences, including reducing infant suffocation, a preventable contributor to SUID.
    • Maternal and Infant Health Branch, Division of Reproductive Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion works to promote optimal and equitable health in women and infants through public health activities and aims to improve the investigation and monitoring of SIDS and other SUID and to identify opportunities for prevention and reduction in racial and ethnic disparities.
  • Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is a federal agency charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of the thousands of consumer products under its jurisdiction.
  • First Candle external link (formerly the SIDS Alliance) is a national nonprofit health organization that unites parents, caregivers, and researchers nationwide with government, business, and community service groups to advance infant health and survival. First Candle provides information on SIDS and safe sleep to new and expecting parents as well as grief-related information and services for those who have lost a child.
  • Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration aims to improve the health of mothers, children, and families through support of programs that assure access to quality care and provide assistance for those who want to apply for support services and programs, such as Medicaid, among other functions. MCHB supports the National Action Partnership to Promote Safe Sleep (NAPPSS)external link, a coalition working to develop and implement a practical action plan to make safe infant sleep a national norm.

Partners

The following groups lead and participate in campaign activities related to promoting safe sleep for infants and reducing infant mortality.  

  • American SIDS Institute external link is a national nonprofit health care organization dedicated to the prevention of sudden infant death and the promotion of infant health through a comprehensive nationwide program of research, clinical services, education, and family support. 
  • Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) external link is a national resource, partner, and advocate for state public health leaders and others working to improve the health of women, children, youth, and families, including those with special health care needs.
  • Baby-Friendly USA (BFUSA) external link is the accrediting body and national authority for the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) and conducts all activities necessary for designation and adoption of the BFHI in the United States. BFUSA establishes the standards/criteria for successfully implementing the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding external link and assesses and accredits maternity care facilities that meet those standards. The Baby-Friendly® designation conferred by BFUSA supports optimal infant feeding/breastfeeding, which is shown to reduce the risk of SUID/SIDS. BFUSA recommendations also include safe sleep education of new parents.
  • Children’s Safety Network (CSN) external link is a national resource center for the prevention of childhood injuries and violence.
  • Charlie’s Kids Foundation external link
  • Cribs for Kids® external link is a safe sleep education program for low-income families that aims to help reduce the risk of injury and death of infants due to unsafe sleep environments.
  • Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. external link is a private not-for-profit collegiate Greek-letter multi-cultural fraternity with over 150,000 members and 721 undergraduate and alumni chapters nationwide. Kappa and NICHD collaborate on the Safe Sleep Fatherhood Outreach Initiative to teach fathers, grandfathers, uncles, brothers, and other community stakeholders about ways to reduce the risk of SIDS and other sleep-related causes of infant death.
  • Keeping Babies Safe external link is a nonprofit child product safety organization that provides education, assistance, and leadership in keeping babies safe from preventable injuries associated with unsafe cribs and unsafe sleep environments.
  • National Center for Fatality Review and Prevention (National CFRP) external link is a resource center for state and local child death review programs, funded by the MCHB, which promotes, supports, and enhances child death review methodology and activities at the state, community, and national levels.
  • National Fetal and Infant Mortality Review Program (NFIMR) external link is an action-oriented community process that continually assesses, monitors, and works to improve service systems and community resources for women, infants, and families.
  • Safe Kids Worldwide external link is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing home-related injuries.
  • SIDS Center of New Jersey (SCNJ) external link works to reduce the risk of SIDS and other sleep-related infant deaths. The Center operates under grants from the NJ Department of Health, addressing the missions of bereavement support, research, and public health education.  It is based at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and HMH Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital. SCNJ’s SIDS Info app (available free from Google Play external link and the Apple Store external link) is based on the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines on risk reduction and provides links to Safe to Sleep® campaign and other evidence-based resources to help parents and caregivers learn about reducing the risk of sudden unexpected infant deaths, from their mobile device. Users can also switch between English and Spanish in the app, including voice-over and images.
  • SUID/SIDS Gateway external link is designed to increase the capacity of state and local SUID programs, family support and advocacy organizations, national organizations related to SUID/SIDS issues, and the three other National Centers funded by HRSA's Maternal and Child Health Bureau to incorporate cultural and linguistic competence into their services and supports, materials and training efforts, and community engagement.
  • United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC) external link is an independent nonprofit coalition of more than 50 organizations that support its mission to drive collaborative efforts for policy and practices that create a landscape of breastfeeding support across the United States.

The campaign also partners with nursing and other organizations on its continuing education module for nurses. Learn more about these partners.

Federal SUID/SIDS Workgroup