(From left) Ann Kellams, MD, Fern Hauck, MD
UVA pediatrician and breastfeeding and lactation medicine specialist Ann Kellams, MD, and UVA family medicine physician Fern Hauck, MD, were featured in over 100 news outlets, including U.S. News & World Report and Yahoo, discussing the potential risks associated with mothers falling asleep while breastfeeding.
A new study reveals that one in four breastfeeding mothers—likely exhausted—admit to falling asleep while nursing, a situation that can increase the risk of infant suffocation.
“This highlights the need for parents to be educated about the potential risk of falling asleep while feeding and to plan for that possibility by making the space around the baby as safe as possible,” said study co-author Dr. Hauck. “That would include removing pillows and blankets to ensure an open airway for the baby.”
According to Dr. Kellams, the other study co-author, “We need to meet families where they are, and come up with a nighttime plan for sleeping and feeding their baby that works for them and is as safe as possible.”
Read full story at U.S. News & World Report.
Filed Under: Media Highlights