Suffocation Prevention

Young children, especially babies, are particularly vulnerable to suffocation.

Babies often suffocate from bedding materials, such as pillows or soft mattresses, when they cannot push them away from their face, or when co-sleeping with adults.

Young children can choke on food or small objects such as toy parts or coins due to their small upper airways, their relative inexperience with chewing, and their natural tendency to put objects in their mouths.

Strangulation from window blinds and clothing drawstrings that get caught in playground equipment and other places is another risk.

What You Can Do

Prevention begins with you! There are a few easy steps that you can take to make sure kids are safe from suffocation:

Do not place blankets, pillows or other soft items in a baby’s crib.

Do not place your baby in an adult bed or have them sleep with an adult.

Make sure the space between crib slats is smaller than a soda can. Make sure the crib’s corner posts are the same height as the end panels.

Keep small items such as toy parts, coins, buttons, and beads away from children under age three. Any item that can fit inside a toilet paper roll core is a potential choking hazard.

Cut up food into small pieces that are easier to chew. Do not feed young children raw vegetables, nuts, hard candy, jellybeans, popcorn, raw unpeeled fruit slices, dried fruits, grapes, or chunks of meat, especially hot dogs whole or cut in “coins”.