Dan Carden

The Indiana Department of Health is pleading with the parents and caretakers of newborn and infant children to always follow safe sleep practices following a recent surge of baby deaths.

According to the state agency, at least 10 infants have died so far this month because of their unsafe sleep environments, compared to the usual statewide average of about two per week.

Unsafe situations often involve co-sleeping with an adult in a bed, blankets and pillows in the baby's crib, sleeping in a baby swing or bouncer, or the baby being placed on his or her stomach to sleep.

Suffocation caused by unsafe sleep environments is the third leading cause of death for all Indiana infants, said Dr. Lindsay Weaver, state health commissioner.

"I can't stress enough how important it is to p

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