Saturday, August 14, 2010

SIDS

Y'all, I have a confession. 
I am completely terrified of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). 
I worry about it all the time. 
I realize this is our first child but I think I will worry about it with my other children as well (if God so decides to bless us with more). 

The reason for this post today is because I got an email earlier this morning relating to SIDS. Of course I became intrigued and opened it right away. 
Since this is something that is on my mind constantly, I wanted to share with my readers.

First, though, I want to share the following story:

It was a Sunday night in June 2007, in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey. Lisa DeMarco finished nursing 3-week-old Andrew and went to bed. At 10 p.m., her husband, Frank, tried to give Andrew a bottle of pumped breast milk, as had been their custom. But Andrew was uncharacteristically fussy and didn't take it until 1 a.m. On most nights, Frank would then place him in his bassinet in the master bedroom. But this evening, saddened by news that his grandmother had died and trying to calm the baby, Frank fell asleep on the couch holding Andrew against his chest.

The next thing anyone remembers, it was 5 a.m. Lisa ran down the stairs because Andrew hadn't woken up for his 4 a.m. meal. Frank was screaming that Andrew felt lifeless and cold. Lisa immediately began giving Andrew CPR and paramedics arrived within minutes, but it was too late: The baby was a victim of sudden infant death syndrome.

This story touched my heart deeply. I cannot imagine the heartache and grief those parents went through. Losing a child has to be the most horrible thing and something parents should never have to experience.

That being said, the email contained links with useful information about SIDS

Here's some quick info.:

What is it?

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the unexpected, sudden death of a child under age 1 in which an autopsy does not show an explainable cause of death.

    Increased risks/causes:
    • Babies who sleep on their stomachs
    • Babies who are around cigarette smoke while in the womb or after being born
    • Babies who sleep in the same bed as their parents
    • Babies who have soft bedding in the crib
    • Multiple birth babies (being a twin, triplet, etc.)
    • Premature babies
    • Babies who have a brother or sister who had SIDS
    • Mothers who smoke or use illegal drugs
    • Teen mothers
    • Short time period between pregnancies
    • Late or no prenatal care
    • Situations of poverty
    *SIDS is most likely to occur between 2 and 4 months of age, and 90% occur by 6 months of age. It occurs more often in winter months, with the peak in January. There is also a greater rate of SIDS among Native and African Americans.

    *SIDS affects boys more often than girls. While studies show that babies with the above risk factors are more likely to be affected, the impact or importance of each factor is not well-defined or understood.


    Other recommendations from SIDS experts:
    • Keep your baby in a smoke-free environment.
    • Breastfeed your baby, if possible -- breastfeeding reduces some upper respiratory infections that may influence the development of SIDS.
    • NEVER give honey to a child less than 1 year old -- honey in very young children may cause infant botulism, which may be associated with SIDS.

    Though there are no definite ways of prevention, there are several valid suggestions that can be found here


    Thanks to Google Health and Parents.com for the information! 
     

    1 comment:

    1. SIDS is no longer something to be frighten of - more like something to feel empowered about. As you correctly wrote, we know much more about SIDS than we did 15 years ago. Parents can DO so much more. While we still cannot predict which baby will die, we do know that virtually every baby that dies has one of the risk factors that you listed above.

      So, use these as tools in your parenting tool box. Place your baby on his or her back in a safe crib with no soft bedding and tell everyone that might care for your baby that this are your non-negotiable rules.

      Then enjoy! Most babies live.

      ReplyDelete

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