The Berrien County Raising Up Healthy Babies Taskforce and Berrien County Health Department will host a Community Baby Shower from noon to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, May 9, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 1340 Sycamore St. in Niles.

Lunch will be served at 12:15 p.m.

Expectant and new mothers and fathers are invited to attend this free event to receive valuable information and resources on how to keep their babies safe and healthy.

This event is funded by the Michigan Department of Community Health.

The Community Baby Shower will feature several resource booths from Berrien County health organizations, home visiting programs and other service agencies. Participants will enjoy an afternoon of fun, learning, free food and prizes. Moms and dads are encouraged to bring along other family members who may care for their baby, like grandparents, aunts or uncles, siblings or friends. No registration is required.

The Community Baby Shower will have a special focus on promoting safe sleep for infants.

“Although we’ve made great strides in reducing the number of preventable infant deaths in our community, there is still work to do,” Cheryl Bury, chair of the Raising Up Healthy Babies Taskforce. “We continue to see far too many infant deaths related to unsafe sleeping conditions, including putting children to sleep in car seats, on couches, or in co-sleeping environments with adults.”

At the Community Baby Shower, participants will have the opportunity to learn from health care and child care professionals about the importance of providing safe sleeping environments for their infants.