Communication Strategy

We know that oftentimes, professionals have long lists of recommendations for parents to reduce their babies’ risks of Sudden Unexplained Infant Death and other sleep-related health issues. We also know that new parents are trying to keep their heads above water – they’re sleep deprived and inundated with messages about the “right way” to care for their babies.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has created new family material for our safe sleep partners and pediatricians, including targeted material for populations who have a higher risk of sleep-related infant deaths. We knew the way to make useful items that resonate would be to talk to parents themselves. The following is what we learned from research with parents and grandparents around safe sleep messaging. Please consider these strategies when crafting your own messages or when sharing material from this toolkit.

Strategy

Focus on teaching the baby how to self-soothe, so that they can fall asleep easily after waking up for feeds. 

Why it works

Key unsafe sleep behaviors (bed-sharing and tummy-sleep) are driven by a desire to help the baby sleep deeper and longer so the parent can also sleep or get time to themselves.). Babies need to wake every 2-4 hours to feed, and babies need to be able to wake easily so that they don’t die during sleep. Strategies that offer moms the “solution to sleep” must not promise something that moms have rarely experienced (e.g., 8-straight hours of sleep). 

Strategy

Just like any practice, we get better with practice. Emphasize the concept of “practice” for babies so that they get used to sleeping on their back. 

Why it works

We found that many parents and grandparents who put baby to sleep on her stomach did so because “she is more comfortable that way.” The “babies will choose how they want to sleep” message acknowledges that a baby may have a preference, but now, while the parents are still in control, they can take the step that will keep baby safest.

Strategy

Focus on this simple message: babies sleep safest on their backs. Choking is not a concern for back sleepers.

Why it works

Use images of the anatomy of the airway and esophagus (include diagram here) to demonstrate to parents that babies are less likely to choke when they are sleeping on their backs.  

Strategy

Use empathy.

Why it works

We found that parents are extremely sensitive to messaging that sounds condescending or not based in the reality they are currently experiencing. They specifically want to hear real advice from real parents. While that may not always be possible depending on the messenger, focusing on empathetic tone and direction is key.

Strategy

For the African American and American Indian populations (who have higher rates of SIDS and sleep-related infant deaths), call out the higher risk of SIDS and make messages feel like they are coming from the community.

Why it works

Both of these groups responded well to concepts that spoke specifically to their culture through images and language.

In addition, both audiences were intrigued by the calls to action that specifically mentioned the higher rate of sleep-related deaths in their community, saying that they want to know why that was true and what they could do about it.