Indy health officials raise alarm over infant sleep TikTok trends

(MIRROR INDY) — Have you seen the TikTok videos where moms rave about co-sleeping with their babies? Or the trend of decking out your crib with plush pillows and toys?

These online trends may get thousands of likes, but health officials in Indianapolis are raising alarm.

Shanaya Macon, the director of Maternal and Child Health Health at the Marion County Public Health Department, has seen videos of parents sleeping in the same bed as their baby, or allowing other siblings to do so.

“These are extremely unsafe practices, and they’re contributing to infant mortality,” Macon told Mirror Indy.

The health department said about 17% of Marion County’s infant deaths in 2023 were Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths, an umbrella term for instances where an infant dies before their first birthday without an obvious cause. These cases include accidental sleep suffocation or asphyxia.

There are many things parents can do to prevent these tragedies.

• Babies should sleep alone and separately from any parents or siblings
• Keep cribs free of pillows, stuffed animals, bumper pads and oth...