On a Thursday evening last year, the hum of Marcus Spriggs’ West Baltimore barber shop fell quiet. Inside this longtime gathering spot, for both haircuts and conversation for the young and not-so-young, Spriggs and the others put down their clippers to gaze at the large television screens overhead. 

The barbers and their clients became an informal focus group for the world premiere of a new video from B’more for Healthy Babies, for which the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs serves as a partner. The video, aimed at reducing infant mortality, features a powerful message delivered directly by local voices, including Alex Mosley, one of the shop’s barbers, and a new dad himself.  

“It takes a village to help put an end to sleep-related deaths,” says Angela Burden, a Baltimore public health nurse, mother and grandmother, as she narrates the video. “It’s up to all of us together. We must make sure our babies are set up to lead the long, healthy lives they deserve. You have so much to look forward to, and it all starts with safe sleep.” 

A five-minute version of the video was officially launched in late December on the B’more for Healthy Babies website and social media channels. A final version, which will ultimately be shared throughout the city at places like health care providers’ offices, at bus stops, at jury duty, at the city’s Department of Social Services, the Motor Vehicle Administration and more, will be completed early this year. 

The video delivers a clear message through the ABCDs of infant safety: Alone, Back, Crib, and Don’t Smoke. The new video, the latest in a series created over the last 15 years to address high infant mortality rates in Baltimore, confronts stark realities about health disparities. Since the first B’more for Healthy Babies campaign, infant mortality has fallen by 39 percent and the Black-white disparity in infant mortality has decreased by 48 percent. 

B’more for Healthy Babies is funded by the Baltimore City Health Department. 

Prior safe sleep videos have featured stories of mothers who lost their children to sudden infant death. The new video is more about how communities need to work together to prevent these deaths, using a personal approach that aims to build trust and credibility.  

“Over time, especially during and after the pandemic, families began engaging with messages differently,” says CCP’s Tina Suliman, a senior program officer on the domestic team. “Parents who once felt that the emotional tone of the earlier videos resonated with them now felt like it was too heavy. Caregivers also wanted to see the full network that supports infants — fathers, grandparents, extended family, barbers, pastors — not only mothers.  

“For us, that signaled an opportunity to evolve the storytelling. Welcoming a baby into a family and community is joyful, and Baltimore’s families bring deep care and strength to raising children. This updated video reflects that joy while still communicating clearly about risk, showing safe sleep as something we are responsible for together, with B’more for Healthy Babies as part of their village.” 

By showing relatable stories, the campaign hopes to break through potential resistance to new health practices.  

“We want to make sure that babies live to see their first birthday and beyond and beyond,” says Stacey Stephens, a clinical assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work who directs B’more for Healthy Babies programs in the Upton/Druid Heights/Mondawmin neighborhoods. 

She and August Summers, who directs CCP’s domestic initiatives, led the barbershop discussion after showing the video. They asked those in attendance what they liked – or didn’t like – about what they had just seen. Many praised the video for emphasizing the message that safe sleep isn’t just the job of the mother or father but of everyone in the family’s orbit. 

Key recommendations in the campaign include placing babies alone in their own crib or bassinet, always on their backs, with no additional blankets, bumpers, or stuffed animals – even for naps. While babies must sleep alone in their crib or bassinet, the campaign also encourages parents to sleep nearby in the same room. It also encourages people not to smoke around the baby, which is a risk factor for infant death. 

Joshua Dunlap, a father of two, asked what people should do if they don’t have access to a crib or can’t afford it. “That’s the main reason [an infant] is in the bed,” he says. “There might not be another bed in the house. That’s the problem. There’s no place for them to sleep.” 

Summers told him that there are social service programs that can provide cribs, and that, in a pinch, an empty dresser drawer is a safer alternative to sharing a bed. 

Dunlap says he worries that some people will fear the recommendation for a baby to sleep alone since new parents are bound to be concerned about what could happen with the baby so far away.  

“I think making it about safety, making everyone understand and making it safe for the child to be alone will be a good key point to focus on,” he said as barber Akil Bohanan finished his work on his hair.  

“Alone does not have to mean lonely,” Summers replied. Many sleep-related deaths happen when babies sleep in the same bed with a parent or older sibling.  

Spriggs, the shop owner, emphasized that fact. “The child must sleep alone,” he says. “That’s the key factor there.” 

In the video, Mosely shared his personal journey, including how he learned about safe sleep when B’more for Healthy Babies came to the barbershop while his girlfriend was pregnant with their now toddler. His girlfriend wanted the baby to sleep close to her, and Mosely protested, sharing the lessons he had learned. 

“You don’t really know how you’re moving while you sleep,” Mosely says in the video. “That’s the safest place for him to be is in his own area, his crib area. You know, you have a child, and you want the best for them. You want to raise them well. You want to be healthy and prosper in life. So one of the best things you can do is to ensure that, on your part, they’re sleeping [alone in a crib].” 

That way, he says, “nothing can happen through the night.”