Reframing Infant Safe Sleep Through a Harm Reduction Lens

The Challenge

• • Traditional infant safe sleep messaging focused primarily on medical recommendations
  • Guidance often did not reflect the realities families face, including cultural, economic, and environmental factors
  • Messaging could feel rigid or judgmental, limiting engagement and trust

The Strategy

• • Develop messaging that integrates medical guidance with real-world parenting scenarios
  • Apply a harm reduction approach to make recommendations more accessible and actionable
  • Collaborate with topic experts and partners to ensure accuracy and credibility
  • Engage a statewide coalition to gather feedback and build alignment

My Role

• • Led messaging development in partnership with subject matter experts
  • Created a comprehensive toolkit for Safe Sleep Awareness Month
  • Supported dissemination of messaging and resources across partners

The Outcome

• • Established a more practical, supportive approach to infant safe sleep communication
  • Achieved strong engagement and positive response from partners and stakeholders
  • Improved statewide alignment and adoption through coalition involvement
  • Extended reach beyond the state, with organizations requesting to borrow messaging