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Filed Under:Gladys Carrion, Harlem Hospital Center, Mary Bassett, monica miller, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett, left, holds a baby at a news conference at Harlem Hospital Center on April 13, 2015. (credit: Monica Miller/WCBS 880)

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — City officials are launching a “Safe Sleep” awareness campaign to protect New York’s tiniest residents.

Nearly one infant dies every week in New York City because of unsafe sleep practices, Gladys Carrion, commissioner of the city Administration for Children’s Services, said at a news conference Monday at Harlem Hospital Center.

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Carrion and Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett said Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is preventable, WCBS 880’s Monica Miller reported.

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“Infants need to sleep alone,” Carrion said.

Children younger than 1 year old should also sleep on their backs with no blankets, pillows or toys.

Folashade Kornegay of Harlem, who has a 3-month-old son, said she ensures he is safe when he’s asleep in a portable bassinet. She had a sister die of SIDS.

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“In the middle of the night, when he wakes up and needs to eat, I just reach in, grab him, feed him, and then when he dozes back off, put him back in the bassinet,” Kornegay said.