LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Adventist Health Clear Lake joined Sutter Lakeside Hospital in offering free infant safe sleep classes for expectant mothers or mothers who recently delivered.

The Infant Safe Sleep program is geared towards reducing infant deaths and injury related to suffocation and S.I.D.S.

Seminars are held from 5 to 6:30 p.m. on the first Wednesday of the month at Sutter Lakeside Hospital and the third Tuesday of the month at Adventist Health Clear Lake.

The Infant Safe Sleep Seminar is a countywide collaborative project between Sutter Lakeside Hospital and Adventist Health Clear Lake, and is supported by First 5 Lake County, Mother-Wise, Easter Seals, Lake County Tribal Health Consortium and Lake Family Resource Center. Special funding for the Adventist Health program is provided by Redbud Health Care District and Adventist Health Philanthropy.

“The information and resources shared are a lifeline to our Lake County mothers,” said Melissa Keller, AHCL Women’s Care RN. “It is a privilege to educate and support them during this precious time in their life. I am grateful the program is now offered at both ends of the lake.”

The centerpiece of the campaign is an hour long training led by registered nurses from the Sutter Lakeside Family Birth Center, Adventist Health Clear Lake Women’s Care Unit and volunteers from Mother-Wise, First 5 Lake County and Lake Family Resource Center.

Free and open to all Lake County residents expecting or with a new baby, each class covers why babies shouldn’t sleep in bed with a parent or caregiver; on their side or stomach; or in a crib cluttered with pillows, toys or blankets.

Mothers are encouraged to attend the seminar in their third trimester of pregnancy.

In addition to safe sleeping, partners offer resource information for post-delivery and child development.

Parents who attend the seminar go home with a bundle of child care products which includes a Pack ‘n Play, sleep sack, diapers, wipes, baby clothes, digital thermometer, and other baby essentials that support sale sleep strategies and infant care.

To sign up for an Infant Safe Sleep seminar at Adventist Health call the Bright Start Program at 707.995.4594; to sign up for an Infant Safe Sleep seminar at Sutter Lakeside Hospital call the Family Birth Center at 707-262-5085.