Baby 1st Network

Call Directions Website

Baby 1st Network Infant safe sleep education, community outreach and family support Three babies each week die in Ohio as a result of unsafe sleep environments.

Our Work

Engaging & Empowering Communities

The Baby 1st Network is a leading resource for infant safe sleep information and training, and a valued collaborator in community efforts to reduce infant mortality. Our goal is to engage communities in initiatives to reduce sleep-related infant deaths and support their efforts with information, training and funding. By empowering communities with the tools and information they need, it is our hope that more babies will reach their 1st birthdays. Our African American babies are dying at disproportionately higher rates from all causes including sleep related infant deaths so it is imperative that we reach Ohio’s communities with the infant safe sleep message. Info & Training

Our priorities include holding community forums in areas with the highest infant mortality rates and delivering current, research-based information on infant safe sleep practices. We will also offer support and high-quality training to community-based organizations that connect directly with parents, grandparents and others who need to understand the importance of infant safe sleep practices. We will continue to provide mini-grant program funding to neighborhood and community groups for outreach projects to promote infant safe sleep practices and increased public awareness regarding the impact of sleep-related infant deaths, and ways to reduce these incidences. Family Support

We were founded as a resource for grieving families and this remains at the core of our mission. We provide compassionate and supportive bereavement services to families who have suffered the devastating loss of a baby from a sudden unexpected infant death and we will reach out to families following their loss with timely, compassionate support. The Baby 1st Network will always be an ongoing community of support, encouragement and hope for families for as long as they need our help and we will support families in their efforts to honor and memorialize their children.

Will you be joining this Friday’s Town Hall hosted by OCPIM? There’s still time to register.
10/05/2026

Will you be joining this Friday’s Town Hall hosted by OCPIM? There’s still time to register.

There’s still time to register for this week’s Town Hall! Please, join us for the our next OCPIM Town Hall “Reimagining Our Future Together” this Friday, October 9, 2026.
Register using this link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_xUVvMtLBRaGtLrpaRRwYHQ #/registration

Great news for nurses interested in joining us for Reimagining Infant Safe Sleep: A Community and Public Health Convenin...
09/08/2026

Great news for nurses interested in joining us for Reimagining Infant Safe Sleep: A Community and Public Health Convening — the continuing education activity has now been approved for 1.83 nursing contact hours by the Ohio Nurses Association, an Ohio Board of Nursing approver. And there is no cost to attend.

This training is part of OCPIM’s practice-change work with CCHI-NICHQ to strengthen how health care professionals and communities address Sudden Unexpected Infant Death through more practical, compassionate, and systems-focused approaches to infant safe sleep.

Join us in Cleveland as we begin this work at Cleveland Clinic Hillcrest Hospital.
Friday, October 2, 2026
9:00–11:00 AM
Ross Auditorium A, B & C
Cleveland Clinic Hillcrest Hospital

Nurses, physicians, doulas, community health workers, public health professionals, and other care team members are welcome.

There is no cost to attend — but don’t forget to register! Scan the QR code on the flyer to reserve your spot.

Stronger systems. Safer nights. Brighter futures. For every baby.

Baby 1st Network is proud to spotlight a powerful new resource for our community: **Dreaming Safe Sleep Futures: Transfo...
09/04/2026

Baby 1st Network is proud to spotlight a powerful new resource for our community: **Dreaming Safe Sleep Futures: Transforming Infant Sleep Interventions for Black Families**, by Dr. Stacy Scott, PhD, MPA, CSJ. 📖🎉

For too long, the response to Black infant sleep-related deaths has centered on what families should be doing differently. This book flips that lens, making the case that real change means addressing exhaustion, housing instability, limited resources, and mistrust, the actual conditions shaping whether a family can keep their baby safe.

Dr. Scott offers a practical, Afrofuturism-grounded framework along with tools like the Real Nights Plan and the Future Nursery Lab, giving home visitors, doulas, clinicians, and community health workers real ways to put this thinking into practice.

This is exactly the kind of work Baby 1st Network exists to champion, and we're honored to help get it into the hands of the people doing this work every day.

📖 Get your copy: books.by/stacy-d-scott

08/15/2026

Introducing the Dreaming Safe Sleep Futures Campaign What if we approached safe sleep not simply as a set of recommendations, but as a shared responsibility to build safer futures for every baby? Over the coming weeks, the GISS Center will share a series exploring safe infant sleep through an Afrofu...

August is National Breastfeeding Month. The U.S. Breastfeeding Committee is excited to announce that the 2026 National B...
08/03/2026

August is National Breastfeeding Month. The U.S. Breastfeeding Committee is excited to announce that the 2026 National Breastfeeding Month (NBM) theme is RISE: Resilience, Interdependence, Self-Determination, Empowerment. This year's theme was crafted to capture the heart and strength of the First Food field. Each word in the acronym was chosen to highlight our network's strengths as we advocate for the policy, systems, and environmental changes necessary to create a landscape of breastfeeding support for every family.

04/10/2026
Ohio Statehouse 9am-2pm
04/10/2026

Ohio Statehouse 9am-2pm

04/03/2026

The Kansas Birth Equity Network presents Mom, Dad, and Baby Expo 💙 a free community event centered on community, conversation, and connection to resources! This event is possible because of our sponsor, United Healthcare Community Plan!

📅 Date: Saturday, April 11th
🕥 Time: 10:00 AM
📍 Location: KCKCC Technical Education Center

What to Expect:
✅ Discussions on doulas, midwives, health insurance, childcare, mental health & more
✅ Local vendors & organizations supporting the whole family
✅ Raffle prizes, free lunch, and on-site childcare

This event is for every parent, birth worker, healthcare professional, and community advocate who believes in building stronger families together.

You can find registration, childcare sign up, vendor sign up, and more at this link! linktr.ee/momdadbabyexpo26

Please share and help us spread the word! See you there!

Address

1324 N. Superior Street
Toledo, OH
43604

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 4pm
Tuesday 9am - 4pm
Wednesday 9am - 4pm
Thursday 9am - 4pm
Friday 9am - 4pm

Telephone

+13309299911

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Baby 1st Network posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category