A
5200 Harry Hines Blvd.
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75235
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- Main Retail Café: Mon - Sun | 6:30 a.m. - 7 p.m.
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Posted: 10/7/2015
Educating parents about medical, environmental causes is crucial
Whether caused by natural or accidental factors, the death of an infant is a devastating tragedy. The loss can be even more heartbreaking when the death could have been prevented. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the majority of sleep-related infant deaths are preventable by better educating parents and caregivers about safe sleep practices.
About 4,000 infants die suddenly and unexpectedly in the U.S. each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These deaths are called sudden unexpected infant deaths (SUID). The most frequently reported causes of SUID are Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS); accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed; and unknown causes.
During October, which is designated as SIDS, Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, pediatricians emphasize that as many as 80 to 90 percent of sudden unexpected infant deaths are the result of unsafe sleep practices such as bed sharing, use of soft bedding and stomach sleep position.
“It’s vital for parents and care¬givers to know the lifesaving steps they can take to protect their baby from SUID, including suffocation and accidents during sleep,” said Donna Persaud, MD, Parkland’s Chief of Pediatrics, “because the majority of these deaths are preventable.”
There has been a major decline in the incidence of SIDS in the past two decades, thanks in large part to recommendations issued by the AAP in 1992 that infants be placed for sleep in a “non-prone” position.
“But the decline has plateaued in recent years,” said Dr. Persaud, “and other causes of sleep-related deaths in infants have increased. Pediatricians are focusing attention on educating parents about ways to create a safe sleep environment that can reduce the risk of all sleep-related infant deaths.”
AAP recommendations include supine positioning, use of a firm sleep surface, breastfeeding, room-sharing without bed-sharing, routine immunizations, consideration of using a pacifier, and avoidance of soft bedding, overheating, and exposure to tobacco smoke, alcohol and illicit drugs.
Following these recommendations, Dr. Persaud said, can help ensure your baby awakes safely:
- Back to sleep for every sleep – To reduce the risk of SIDS, infants should be placed for sleep in the supine position (on their back) for every sleep by every caregiver until 1 year of age. Sleeping on their back does not increase the risk of choking and aspiration in infants, even those with gastro-esophageal reflux.
- Use a firm sleep surface like a crib mattress covered by a fitted sheet to reduce the risk of SIDS and suffocation. A crib, bassinet or portable crib/play yard that meets the safety standards of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and ASTM International is recommended.
- Do not place babies to sleep on soft surfaces such as adult beds, waterbeds, sofas, chairs, quilts and sheepskins and do not use devices like wedges, positioners or special mattresses because of the risk of entrapment and suffocation.
- Room-sharing without bed-sharing is recommended. This arrangement decreases the risk of SIDS by as much as 50 percent and also is most likely to prevent suffocation, strangulation and entrapment that might occur when the infant is sleeping in an adult bed.
- The infant’s crib, portable crib, play yard or bassinet should be placed in the parents’ bedroom close to the parents’ bed to facilitate feeding, comforting and monitoring of the infant.
- Infants may be brought into the bed for feeding or comforting but should be returned to their own crib or bassinet when the parent is ready to return to sleep. The AAP does not recommend any bed-sharing situation as safe and it should be avoided at all times.
- Keep soft objects, bumper pads, toys, pillows and loose bedding out of the crib to reduce risk of SIDS, suffocation, entrapment and strangulation.
- Do not smoke while you are pregnant and do not expose babies to second-hand smoke after they are born. New research also warns of the dangers of third-hand smoke, the chemicals left behind on clothing, in homes and in cars. Smoke in the infant’s environment is a major risk factor for SIDS.
- Do not use loose blankets in a baby’s crib. Avoid overheating. Infants should be dressed with at most only one layer of additional clothing than an adult would wear to be comfortable in that environment.
- Consider offering a pacifier at nap time and bedtime. Do not hang the pacifier around the infant’s neck or attach to the infant’s clothing due to risk of suffocation.
- Educate everyone you know who cares for babies about these important safety tips.