Newborn Safety: Interview with Debra Holtzman

Debra has appeared on NBC's Today Show, Dateline NBC, Associated Press Radio and more. She has been featured in Parenting, USA Weekend Magazine, Family Circle, UPI, Washington Post, and Us Weekly and also appears on the Discovery Health Channel’s TV series, Make Room for Baby, and was chosen an "Everyday Hero" by Reader's Digest. Family Circle Magazine named her a "Woman Making a Difference." Debra is the mother of two children and offers LoveToKnow readers crucial tips on newborn safety.

What are some simple steps parents can take to prepare their homes before their baby is born?

More than 4.5 million children are injured in the home every year. Most of these injuries could have been prevented if parents had the information necessary to take proper precautions. Here is a checklist of suggestions to help keep baby safe:

1. Buy a new crib that meets current national safety standards. Corner posts should be 1/16 inch or shorter. (If greater, they may cause entanglement with clothing.) Distance between crib slats should be 2 3/8 inches or less to avoid entrapment. A good rule of thumb is that if you can pass a soda can between the slats, they're too far apart.
2. Look for the JPMA label. This is the certification seal from the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association that should be on any baby equipment you buy. Also, keep up-to-date on recalled products by visiting Recalls.gov.
3. Prevent suffocation and reduce the risk of SIDS. To prevent suffocation and reduce the likelihood of SIDS, remove all soft, loose and fluffy bedding from the baby's sleep area -- this includes pillows, quilts, comforters, bumper pads, sheepskins, stuffed toys and other soft products. Never place baby on a waterbed, sofa, soft mattress, pillow or other soft surface to sleep. Remember to place your baby on her back to sleep at night and nap time.
4. Make a safe zone around the crib. To help reduce the risk of falls, strangulation, suffocation, and burns, do not position the crib near windows, draperies, electrical cords, hanging wall decorations, heating sources, curtain cords or climbable furniture.
5. Reduce the risk of strangulation. Never hang anything on or above a crib with a string or ribbon longer than seven inches. (This precaution lowers the risk of strangulation.) Also, avoid strings on all infant products, including pacifiers and rattles.
6. Secure furniture. Use angle braces or anchors to secure large or heavy furniture and objects, which presents a tipping hazard, to the wall. (About 8,000 to 10,000 victims are treated in emergency rooms annually for furniture tip-over injuries, and some of these injuries are fatal.)
7. Examine window coverings. Be sure your window coverings are up-to-date with the latest safety features. Window coverings manufactured before 2001 can pose a potential strangulation hazard. Replace them with today’s safer, cordless products, especially in children’s bedrooms and play areas. Parents wishing to retrofit rather than replace can order free retrofit kits from the Window Covering Safety Council’s Web site, or by calling 1-800-506-4636.
8. Install safety devices. You need a smoke alarm, window guards or window stopping devices, (check local fire and building codes) and safety covers over all electrical outlets. Take all these precautions throughout your home, including placing smoke alarms in every sleeping area and every level of your home. Choose the bigger outlet caps that cannot turn into choking hazards if pulled out. You can find larger outlet caps at Safety Caps.
9. Use smoke and CO alarms. Install battery-operated carbon monoxide alarms or plug-in CO alarms with battery back-up. Install a CO alarm in the hallway near the bedrooms in each separate sleeping area. In addition, place one at least 15 feet from any fuel-burning appliance. Remember, the proper installation, operation and maintenance of all of fuel-burning appliances is the most important factor in reducing the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
10. Assemble a fully stocked first aid kit. Include a first aid manual, non-latex gloves, bandages of several sizes, antiseptic wipes and sharp scissors. Adults and teens should enroll in a first aid and CPR class.
11. Post a list of emergency numbers near every phone in your home. Include the National Poison Hotline (1-800-222-1222), Police, Pediatrician, Dentist, Family Doctor and Fire Department. Also, include the telephone number of a friend or relative living outside of the emergency area. (A caller is more likely to connect with a long-distance number outside the emergency area than with a local number within it.) You can download a free copy of my emergency preparation sheet from the book The Safe Baby at my website The Safety Expert. Also, program emergency telephone numbers into all phones.
12. Prepare in advance. If you plan fresh decorating, do it well in advance of the baby's arrival. (If the baby is already at home, keep her in your bedroom for a few weeks -- in a safety-approved crib or bassinet -- so she won't be inhaling air pollutants.)
13. Consider room sharing. This means placing the baby’s crib or separate sleep surface along side the adult bed. The baby should not share a bed, sofa, couch, or armchair with an adult or other children. It's OK to bring the baby into bed for nursing or comforting -- but return the baby to the crib or bassinet when you're ready to sleep.

What should parents expect their caregivers to know regarding newborn safety?

Make sure caregivers are trained in infant safety, CPR and first aid. If you like a potential sitter who has not had such training, recommend that she take such a training course at a local hospital or safety organization, such as Red Cross. Give the sitter the book, The Safe Baby to read. Spend time explaining specifics about your baby, home and expectations.

Do you have any other advice or tips you'd like to offer?

You don’t need to childproof your entire home when your infant first arrives, but you do need to implement simple measures to keep your baby safe and healthy.

• Set your water heater to 120 degrees F. or lower. Water at a temperature of 140 degrees F. will produce a third-degree burn on a child in just three seconds! Be aware that 120 degrees F. can still burn your baby, so always mix hot water with cold water before it touches your child’s skin. A comfortable water temperature for a child is near his own body temperature, 98 to 100 degrees F. Never exceed a temperature of 100 degrees F.
• If you own a pet, keep the baby’s room off limits. Install a safety gate or screen door. Never leave a baby or young child alone with any pet.
• When childproofing any room in the house, always look at it from your child's perspective. Get down on your hands and knees and crawl around the room. You may be surprised at the hazards you see!

Where can we read more about you?

Visit my website: The Safety Expert.