Parents advocate for child bereavement leave
Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC) is the fifth most common cause of death in children between one and two years old. In these cases, most often a seemingly healthy child goes to sleep and never wakes up.
Six Holyoke educators awarded for excellence in teaching
One in 100,000 children die from SUDC, but there is no way to predict or prevent it and it does not receive any federal research funding. Advocates are working to pass a law that would allow parents to take 10 days of bereavement leave following the death of a child, regardless of their workplace's policy.
Erin Bowen is a pediatrician who lost her son, Conor, when he was just 17 months old.
'Families need support from everyone, including the knowledge that their job is preserved and that they have the ability to have some time off,' said Bowen, who serves as the Vice President of the SUDC Foundation.
A Westford representative is leading the charge for this bill, and he told 22News that it is simply the right thing to do.
'It's a very difficult situation, obviously, dealing with the loss of a child,' said Representative James Arciero. 'As a father myself, it's heartbreaking and unimaginable,'
SUDC is not as common as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), and lawmakers and advocates say a large part of their work centers on raising awareness about the issue and resources available to grieving families.
Affected parents said they are advocating for this goal now, during Sudden Death in Childhood Awareness Month, to ease other parents' pain should they lose a child.
WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.
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This is Where Your Newborn Should Sleep
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Several years ago, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) announced that the safest place for a newborn to sleep is in the same room as you, but in their own space. Since then, many new baby bassinets have hit the market. There's everything from smart bassinets that "listen" for cries to simple, open-top sleep spaces with mesh sides for added airflow. The goal is to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) by keeping a baby close for the first six months. But using a bassinet is good for practical parenting reasons too. It's easier to reach an infant lying in a bassinet next to you than it is to get up and go to a separate nursery, especially when a newborn eats every couple of hours. At the Good Housekeeping Institute, we test a wide range of baby gear, including sleepers. 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The brand's BassiNest can swivel over your adult bed, and the breathable mesh sides bend down a bit, making it easier to lift your baby out for a midnight nursing sesh or sunrise cuddle. ✔️ TESTING NOTES: This newest version is lighter (the original was heavy!) and now the top can lift off its base so you can use the basket for naps in other rooms. The BassiNest works best next to a mattress that is at least 4 1/2 inches off the floor and no higher than 30 inches. There are two levels of vibration and four calming sounds to help your baby fall asleep. ✔️ EXTRAS: This comes with a mattress but Halo sells a fully washable mattress upgrade for about $80. It also comes with a fitted sheet and it's easy to buy additional cotton sheets. There's also a more affordable version that loses a few of the soothing features and the nightlight. $349.99 at Crib ✔️ WHAT TO KNOW: This winner of a past Good Housekeeping Parenting Award is affordable and electronics-free. Use the My Crib at your bedside (and save a lot of money) or use it for travel, or both. It easily folds down to smaller than half its regular size, goes into a carry bag that's included and might even fit in a piece of checked luggage. ✔️ TESTING NOTES: Weighing only 12 pounds, this bassinet has mesh sides that lock, so it's light and easy to move around. The tradeoff is that this will feel cheaper than a larger, sturdier bassinet. The mattress pad is used without a sheet and can be wiped down, which is easy but some parents might miss the feeling of having bedding. Many new parents say they don't want to spend a lot of money on a bassinet that they'll only use for a few months, so we like this as a low-cost option. This would also be great for any second house that you visit frequently, such as a grandparent's place. ✔️ EXTRAS: There's a smaller version that's even less expensive. $79.99 at Smart Sleeper ✔️ WHAT TO KNOW: The Food and Drug Administration approved the Snoo as a baby sleep product that keeps babies in the safe back-lying position. It was designed by pediatrician Harvey Karp, M.D., whose "five S's"for soothing are now bedrock parenting advice: swaddling, shushing, swinging, sucking (like on a pacifier) and side/stomach (a way of holding your newborn). After writing The Happiest Baby on the Block, Dr. Karp designed the SNOO to automatically respond with soothing motions and a shushing sound when your baby cries. We gave it a recent . ✔️ TESTING NOTES: The SNOO connects to an app and gives you a nightly sleep report. It comes with a swaddle that attaches to the infant bed. "The SNOO doesn't change the fact that you'll still wake up for midnight feedings," says Lexie Sachs, Good Housekeeping Institute executive director of strategy & operations, who used the product with both of her kids. "It does, however, prevent non-hungry wakings, and it cuts down the time it takes to get your child back to sleep once a feeding is done." Set it up near an outlet and plug it in to enjoy all of the features. The main pain point is the price. ✔️ EXTRAS: There is a 30-day risk-free trial period. There are also increasing opportunities to rent a SNOO. Happiest Baby sells additional organic cotton fitted sheets and swaddles. READ OUR FULL REVIEW: SNOO Bassinet $1695.00 at to You ✔️ WHAT TO KNOW: Bassinets usually function as a bedside sleeper for five or six months and then you're through. This one converts into a changing table when your baby outgrows it as an infant sleeper. The Close to You is very adjustable; the height of the top can be set anywhere between 24 and 33.5 inches from the floor, which means it's good for many tall beds. ✔️ TESTING NOTES: This is an easy bassinet to move around — the only one on our list with four wheels plus a handle that allows you to shift it around a room. The battery-operated electronics provide six songs, two vibration settings and a nightlight, and you'll want three AA batteries for that. Some online reviewers complained that the batteries run down fast, so have extras as backup. The mattress cover zips off for cleaning. When you're ready for this to be a changing table, flip the mattress to the waterproof side. As a changing table, it can hold a toddler up to 35 pounds so it's useful up until potty training. ✔️ EXTRAS: You can add a diaper caddy, sold separately. $329.99 at Bassinet ✔️ WHAT TO KNOW: Newton Baby is known for its completely washable crib mattress, and this bassinet mattress can also be rinsed clean in the shower. It's a sturdy, fixed-side bassinet without any electronics, so it's a little more affordable than others, and it includes a fabric storage shelf underneath. A cotton muslin fitted sheet is included. ✔️ TESTING NOTES: This took about 15 minutes for us to assemble in the Parents and Pets Lab. We like the large sleep surface that gives even a big baby lots of room. A tester with a newborn said, "I love that it's lightweight and was easy for me to set up while pregnant and use postpartum." The 1.5-inch thick mattress is the thickest allowed under federal safety standards. See more below about why a baby's sleep space requires a hard, firm surface but the short answer is it's safest and best for them. This bassinet is Greenguard Gold Certified for low chemical emissions. ✔️ EXTRAS: Newton also sells a bedside sleeper, with one side that lowers, for about $100 more. $199.99 at ✔️ WHAT TO KNOW: It was just a matter of time before a company created a SNOO-ish smart bassinet that can sense cries for a lower price. The SmartSense has what Graco calls "cry detection technology." You plug it in, and sound from your crying baby activates the bassinet to start rocking to soothe them back to sleep. Parents can also manually rock this basinet, giving them more options. ✔️ TESTING NOTES: A consumer tester gave this high marks, saying, "I really liked all the tech features, but specifically the built-in white noise. The soothing mode definitely works. It takes about five minutes for the SmartSense to truly soothe our crying baby, so at first we didn't think she liked it, but we realized we just needed to give it a little more time to help her settle." You control this with the buttons on the bassinet. It comes with an organic cotton crib sheet. It's new for 2025, so there aren't a lot of online reviews to go by yet. But one feature another one of our testers had fun with is that it functions as a Bluetooth speaker, so you can play songs from your phone through the bassinet. ✔️ EXTRAS: Graco does not sell extra fitted sheets, but you can buy compatible sheets. $429.00 at ✔️ WHAT TO KNOW: This modern bassinet has a focus on design and storage and can tuck in next to your bed without being very obtrusive. Though it's hardly mini — it's long, but not as wide as others — we like it for small spaces. It's got a sturdy metal frame and wood trim, and the sheet that it comes with is softer than most. A storage shelf underneath can hold burp cloths and spare pajamas. ✔️ TESTING NOTES: Adjust this to any of four heights and slide the top closer or further away from your bed as needed. The high mesh sides add to the feeling of safety and security, but because they don't flex, you will have to bend over to scoop your infant out. The Iora folds flat and fits into the included carry bag so it can be portable. That also makes it possible to store under your bed during the day if needed. But the bassinet weighs 26 pounds, so you're not going to want to carry it around often. Its heaviness does contribute to its sturdiness, though. ✔️ EXTRAS: If you want to match back to your bedroom the Iora also comes in colors like green and slate gray. $239.99 at Baby Crib and Bassinet ✔️ WHAT TO KNOW: This new innovation is a little different: It's a bassinet for the first five months and then transitions into a crib that you can use until age 2. You lower the mattress and change the legs to do the conversion. ✔️ TESTING NOTES: "This is a simple, clean-looking crib. The mattress is comfortable. Our son enjoys it," one of our home testers said. Another added, "I liked that the all-mesh netting around the crib made me feel like it's safe for my baby's different sleeping positions and breathing. It's airy." A third said the bassinet is approximately bedside height, and "That makes it easy to see in." This is so lightweight at 15 pounds that some testers mistook it for a travel crib. It is somewhat portable, but it's mostly built to replace a bigger, heavier wooden crib, especially in a small-space home. It comes with an organic cotton crib sheet. With this, you will need to move your child to a toddler bed at age 2. ✔️ EXTRAS: BabyBjörn also has a cradle that works from birth to 6 months. It's a similar Scandinavian look for less money, but then you will need a full-size crib too. $499.99 at Twin ✔️ WHAT TO KNOW: Expecting two? This functions much the way the regular BassiNest does, but is double-wide to accommodate infant twins. Twin babies are obviously used to being close together, which is why it's so nice to give them a shared bassinet. This provides a mesh wall between them, so they can see each other and interact without smushing into each other and waking each other up or causing any worry that one baby will get themselves on top of the other. ✔️ TESTING NOTES: Like with the Halo for singletons, the top can rotate toward an adult bed. The walls on each side can bend a bit so a parent can easily get a baby out for feeding or soothing. This comes with a nightlight, vibrations and several soothing sounds and lullabies, which all run on three AA batteries. It's heavy, a little more than 45 pounds once assembled, so you'll want to just leave it set up next to your bed. ✔️ EXTRAS: This comes with four fitted sheets. If you need more, buy the special fitted sheets for this. $484.99 at we test bassinets The engineers, scientists and journalists at the Good Housekeeping Institute work hand-in-hand to test consumer products such as baby bassinets. We also test in homes with product testers and use our proprietary consumer data as much as possible. We have evaluated more than 20 baby bassinets that meet or exceed federal standards, looking for ones that have additional third party certifications such as JPMA certification. When testing, we look at: ✔️ Ease of assembly: Few bassinets are ready to go out of the box. We build them ourselves to make sure they aren't too tricky and that they're sturdy when constructed. ✔️ Portability: If a bassinet is touted as being for travel, we fold it down and make sure it's easy to move around. Even for the heavier bassinets that will mostly stay in one place, we move each across hard floor and carpet and give it a rating from 1 to 5 for ease of movement. ✔️ Electronics: We plug in or add batteries to every bassinet that has motion or sound features. We test these in the Parents and Pets Lab but also lean heavily on home tests and the opinion of parents, especially for reports of how the electronics work over time. ✔️ Dimensions: Size and height of a bedside bassinet are so important to parents in small spaces, so we double-check length, width and to consider when shopping for the best bassinet A bassinet can reduce the risk of SIDS by keeping your baby close to you but in their own sleep space. It can also make breastfeeding and/or C-section recovery easier. The following tend to trip up new parents looking for a bassinet, so here's our advice. ✔️ Do not use a vintage bassinet or cradle. Antique cradles are not safe. They usually don't have mesh sides and often feature flouncy bedding that is a suffocation hazard. As with so much baby gear, the newer the better. Safety regulations have come a long way. ✔️ Trust the bedding the bassinet comes with and don't add to it. An exception is buying a fitted sheet or a mattress sold specifically for your bassinet. When thinking about comfort features, remember where your newborn slept at the hospital: a flat, firm plastic bassinet. Newborns are different than adults and don't need soft cushions — in fact, a cushiony space is dangerous for them. ✔️ Bassinets are made to be bedside sleepers. They don't need to literally attach to your bed to be convenient, but sometimes bassinets do pull right up to the adult bed. That said, you don't have to keep the bassinet next to you. You can place it in your room but near the glider where you do feedings, for instance. ✔️ Motions and sounds can help an infant sleep. Every baby is different, but we've long known that some babies instantly fall asleep in a baby swing or a moving car, so it makes sense that there are now sleepers that mimic those motions. Unfortunately, you will not know if your newborn loves vibrations until you try. We are also fans of bassinets that don't move, because some babies who sleep with motion might then have trouble with our next point... ✔️ Eventually you'll need to transition your baby to the crib. Talk with your pediatrician, but most suggest for this happen at 4 to 6 months. You definitely need to move your baby out of the bassinet when they can get themselves up on their knees. You might start by lying your baby down for naps in a crib. Another idea is to transition the bassinet into the nursery before making the change, or move the crib into your room during the transition (if it fits!). We have no magic formula, but do suggest using tools such as a sound machine as well as a baby monitor so you can determine whether your baby is fussing to sleep or if they really need baby bassinets safe? Yes, and bassinets are recommended by pediatricians. The Children's Hospital of Philadelipia (CHOP) offers these additional tips for choosing baby furniture. Look for: ✔️ A sturdy bottom and a wide base for stability ✔️ Smooth surfaces (no protruding staples or other hardware that could injure the baby) ✔️ Legs with strong, effective locks to prevent folding while in use ✔️ A firm mattress that fits snuglyWhy are bassinets so hard? Baby mattresses, including those in a bassinet, are supposed to feel hard. If it feels too hard to you, it's probably actually correct and safe for your baby. According to the AAP, a firm mattress is critical in reducing the risk of SIDS. It should be firm enough that it does not conform to the shape of your child's head. Newborns and young infants lack the motor control needed to turn over, and a too-soft mattress might result in suffocation. Firm support also protects a newborn's soft you need a bassinet for your newborn? Not necessarily. You do need a safe sleep space for your baby, along with a car seat — those and diapers are the three "musts" for bringing a newborn home. Everything else is just to make your life easier. We understand that using a bassinet for four to six months and then switching to a crib can seem like an annoyance, money-wise, but a Good Housekeeping Institute Lab director, Stefani Sassos, explains why she loves using a bassinet: "Both the AAP and our pediatrician recommended having our newborn sleep in the same room as us for the first few months, which is based on some compelling research showing that this can decrease the risk of SIDS and more." Sassos says, "We had both of our kids sleep in our room in a bedside bassinet for the first few months. Not only does it make those middle-of-the-night diaper changes and feeds a bit easier, but it helped me better respond and learn their cues." So the full answer is no, you don't need a bassinet as long as your baby has a crib or a playard or other safe sleep space — but having a bedside bassinet near you at night can make that first half-year with a baby a whole lot trust Good Housekeeping? The Good Housekeeping Institute has been testing consumer products for more than 100 years, including products for new parents like air purifiers and the best family cars. Some of our bassinet picks were tested by mom of two Lexie Sachs, the executive director of the Good Housekeeping Institute with a degree in fiber science. Sachs knows good sleep — she helms our annual Bedding Awards and tests baby-specific textiles such as the best crib sheets. That's her second-born in the photo, testing the SNOO. This article was written by Contributing Writer Jessica Hartshorn who has covered the juvenile-product market for 25 years, including at American Baby magazine and Parents magazine. She has written about all kinds of parenting products for the Institute, including the best car seat and stroller combos. You Might Also Like 67 Best Gifts for Women That'll Make Her Smile The Best Pillows for Every Type of Sleeper
