SIDS is important to me as a public health issue for families of infants because I work with infants on a daily basis. Sudden infant death syndrome is the term used when an infant dies suddenly without any cause or known medical reason. There does not appear to be any indicators prior to death that there is something wrong. There are some preventative measures, such as infants sleeping on their backs in a well ventilated room.
In Asutria, they have a "Safe Sleep" campaign to make parents and families aware of SIDS prevention methods. "The current focus is to convey a clear and uniform message in personal conversations before and after birth of the child. These conversations with parents are the most important tool to detect SIDS related anxiety and a possibly increased risk of SIDS. In the last 30 years various polysomnographic parameters were published that were associated with an increased risk of SIDS.Today there is international consent that polysomnography is not an efficient screening method to demonstrate increased risk of SIDS. Therefore the use of polysomnography, besides research purposes, has been limited to investigating clinical symptoms of infants and children. Concerning monitoring it is important to note that--in contrast to the undisputed importance of monitoring breathing disorders--the effectiveness inSIDS prevention is unproven. State of the art are instruments that monitor heart and breathing rate and have adequate storage functions. The duration of monitoring should encompass the symptomatic period as well as a safety period of three months. The monitor should not be routinely prescribed for a year. The guiding principle is "As short as possible with stringent indication". Prerequisite for the monitoring is good instruction of the parents and a continuous consultation by competent outpatient clinics." (Ipsiroglu, Kerbl, Urschitz & Kurz, 2010)
Ipsiroglu OS, Kerbl R, Urschitz M, Kurz R.(2010) Wiener Klinische Wochenschrift; Vol. 112 (5), pp. 187-92.
My future work is impacted by SIDS knowledge, and I have taken training about it. without knowledge of what SIDS is, I believe state guidelines here in MA would be different. We are not allowed to place an infant on their stomach, but can allow them to sleep that way if they roll over themselves. There are to be no loose items in the cribs while in the facility, all blankets must be tucked in tightly or the baby must be swaddled. Toys are not allowed in the cribs. As always, constant supervision is required at all times. Generally, each facility has good air circulation as well.
Hi Lauren,
ReplyDeleteI also posted about SIDS and enjoyed reading about the "Safe Sleep" campaign in Asutria. The childcare center that I use to work at had a safe sleep policy for our infants where we did not place anything in the cribs not even blankets. Our infants teachers also had a sleeping chart where they would have to check on the sleeping infant every 15 minutes and document.
Hi Laure,
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting post. The Child Development Center I worked at a while back also has a Safe Sleep campaign. It's so very important that we all understand the dangers of SIDS. I even have a high school classmate who's child died from SIDS. It's one thing to read about, but when it hits close to home, it's another story. It's sad, but as your post mentioned, people really need to be aware and take precaution.
Lauren,
ReplyDeleteThanks for writing about this very important topic. It is disheartening to know that SIDS can happen to anyone-there's no way to predict it. I think the most important thing to combat SIDS is to keep parents aware of safe sleep habits.
It was very interesting to read about Safe Sleep campaign. I have never heard of it but I have heard of SIDS and have a close friend who lost her grandbaby to SIDS, she was 8wks old. I hope someday they will find out what causes SIDS and more ways to see the signs to prevent it from happening.
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