Maternal & Child Health

Follow the ABC’s of Safe Sleep – Place babies Alone, on their Backs, in a Crib for every sleep.

In 2024, 11 Saginaw County infants under the age of one lost their lives due to unsafe sleep practices that were preventable – one more than 2023. This startling data, provided by the Saginaw County Medical Examiner’s Office, is helping to guide BWell Saginaw partners in responding with the most effective safe sleep messaging and the most appropriate messengers.

CMU Medical Education Partners stepped up to design a comprehensive, year-long campaign focused on the ABCs of safe sleep – place babies Alone, on their Backs, in a Crib for every sleep.

To more effectively communicate the ABCs of safe sleep, Covenant HealthCare, CMU Medical Education Partners, Saginaw County Health Department, Great Lakes Bay Health Centers, and Region 5 Perinatal Quality Collaborative pooled resources to launch the campaign for a full year. The message is placed on four STARS busses, a series of monthly billboards, posters, flyers, and two large banners on the United Way of Saginaw County and health department buildings. It is also the subject of another round of episodes of the Healthier Me podcast and videos shared with expectant and new moms at doctor appointments.

In total, the campaign should deliver as many as 48 million impressions in and around the City of Saginaw where infant mortality is highest.

Special thanks go out to Tri-Star Trust Bank for a $10,000 grant to help fund this effort.