Anderson County Emergency Medical Services, County Mayor Terry Frank, and the chief medical examiner for both Knox and Anderson Counties are all urging the community—particularly parents and grandparents of children younger than 12 months old—to practice proper “safe sleeping.”
The caution from local officials comes as a result of a rising trend of infant mortality rates in Anderson County, a press release said. The Knox County Regional Forensic Center tracks information related to deaths in 21 counties.
“Since 2019, we have done 185 autopsies on infants under one year (of age). One hundred of those infants died as a result of unsafe sleep environments,” said Dr. Darinka Mileusnic-Polchan, chief medical examiner, during a press conference held Wednesday morning at Anderson County EMS headquarters in Clinton.
In Anderson County, data shows that 14 infant deaths have been recorded since 2019 with 10 of those deaths having been attributed to unsafe sleep practices.
However, the trend is increasing, the press release said. In 2019, one infant death in Anderson County was attributed to unsafe sleep practices. There were none in 2020. Then, in 2021, there were three infant deaths due to unsafe sleep. Then, in 2022, two infants. And, in the first six months of 2023, four infant deaths in Anderson County have been attributed to unsafe sleep practices.
“All these deaths are preventable,” Mileusnic-Polchan said.
The chief medical examiner said infants should not sleep in adult beds with adults, should not be held by a family member lying down on a sofa to sleep, should not be put to sleep in baby “rockers,” and should not be sleeping with blankets, toys, or pillows.
“Our goal is prevention,” said Bobbi Jo Henderson, deputy director of education for Anderson County EMS. “Babies need to sleep alone, on their backs, and in a crib. It’s ABC – alone, backs, crib. That’s the safest way.”
EMS officials are working to educate the community about the proper safe sleep practices that can save an infant’s life. Anderson County EMS hosted a booth at the county fair this summer. They shared pamphlets about “safe sleep” and talked to families who visited the fair.
“Getting the information out to the community to help prevent some of these situations is the main reason why we’re here today,” EMS Director Nathan Sweet said.
Henderson said the EMS team often will provide “direct on-scene education” about safe sleeping practices for infants. If they run a call where the team notices an unsafe sleep situation, Henderson said, the team will offer guidance about the ABCs of safe sleep to the families as well as resources that could help save a child’s life.
If families cannot afford a proper bed for their babies, the State of Tennessee partners with participating first responder agencies to distribute a limited number of cribs to families that cannot afford one on their own, the press release said.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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