While there is more for the health care professionals to learn about SIDS and the underlying causes, research continues to be done. Some of the areas of study include genetic,brain activity, sleeping environments to help find answers to many of the questions that surround SIDS.
In 1994 the NICHD launched the Back To Sleep campaign to further promote the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation that infants should be placed on their back during sleep. The campaign has brought a widespread awareness among parents, caregivers and health care professionals about the dangers of SIDS, while helping to significantly reduce the number of infant deaths.
There are no symptoms nor warning signs that can help detect the occurrence of SIDS . Rather, it's the cause of death that's given when an infant under the age of 1 year, suddenly dies by undetermined cause, the determination is often made after a thorough complete autopsy and legal investigation. The loss of an infant, especially in the suddenness of this manner of death can be tragic and devastating for the parents and their entire family.
However there are some risk factors that can be taken into consideration. Some of these include the following:
~~
poor prenatal care
high risk pregnancies *twins/multiples
premature birth
african american infants
maternal smoking
maternal age under 20 years
infants who sleep on their stomach
infants who sleep on a soft surfaces
The most important: always place your baby on his or her back rather than on the stomach or side when putting him to sleep. You should instruct any other family member or caregivers about the importance of this proper sleeping procedure.
Prevent you baby from exposure to cigarette smoke: do not allow to anyone smoke around your baby after he is born.
Baby Bedding :Ensure that you are using a firm crib mattress.Remove all, comforters,bumper pads, pillows and stuffed toys from the crib. These are all nice to have but certainly not a necessity. Many of these items can pose hazards such as suffocation, so its best to keep them out of the crib. All that you need is a crib sheet and a lightweight blanket.
To keep your baby comfortable, try not to overdress him, all clothing should be lightweight. As well ensure that the overall room temperature is warm enough for him.
___
Education is key in helping to reduce the occurrence of SIDS in infants. Many organizations and services are available for parents, caregivers and health care professionals who care for young infants. Explore some of the resources below for additional information.
If you have any questions or concerns about your infants health you should contact your pediatrician.
SIDS Resources
SIDS Resources: Michigan nonprofit organization that provides bereavement counseling, 24hr crisis hotline, family support and educational resources to promote community awareness about SIDS.
American SIDS Institute: family support, crisis hotline, educational services and research
The CJ Foundation for SIDS: provides fundraisers, SIDS awareness, resources, offers educational materials and more
The National Sudden Infant Death Resource Center: Georgetown University resource site providing family counseling,referrals and support, crisis hotline, searchable database, provides educational materials and more
2 comments:
Nice article. Remember, most babies live! But here are several additional behaviors that can help reduce the risk. Never allow anyone to smoke around baby OR pregnant Mom.
Also, breastfeed if at all possible. It really is good for baby.
Also, once breastfeeding is firmly established (usually about 1 month), offer a pacifier for night time and naptime. Pacifier's have been found to be protective for SIDS. Enjoy your baby!
SIDS deaths in the U.S. decreased from 4,895 in 1992 to 2,247 in 2004. But, during a similar time period, 1989 to 2004, SIDS being listed as the cause of death for sudden infant death (SID) decreased from 80% to 55%. According to Dr. John Kattwinkel, chairman of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Special Task Force on SIDS "A lot of us are concerned that the rate (of SIDS) isn't decreasing significantly, but that a lot of it is just code shifting”.
In a 2006 letter to the editor in the Journal of Pediatrics Dr. Rafael Pelayo, Dr. Judith Owens, Dr. Jodi Mindell, and Dr. Stephen Sheldon asked the following question of the American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome after their Pacifier and Co-sleeping report was published:
"...from the perspective of the field of pediatric sleep medicine, the policy statement's laudable but narrow focus on SIDS prevention raises a number of important issues that need to be addressed. In particular, the revised recommendations regarding cosleeping and pacifier use have the potential to lead to unintended consequences on both the sleep and the health of the infant. The potential implications of a SIDS risk-reduction strategy that is based on a combination of maintaining a low arousal threshold and reducing quiet (equivalent to Delta or slow-wave sleep) in infants must be considered. Because slow-wave sleep is considered the most restorative form of sleep and is believed to have a significant role in neurocognitive processes and learning, as well as in growth, what might be the neurodevelopmental consequences of chronically reducing deep sleep in the first critical 12 months of life?"
In a currently utilized model that explains the process in which slow wave sleep is involved in memory consolidation the hippocampus acts as a temporary storage facility for new memories which are then transferred to the neocortex during slow wave sleep (SWS) [8]. In this model, acetylcholine acts a feedback loop inhibitor inside the hippocampus during REM sleep and wakefulness. The activity during the high cholinergic wakefulness period is believed to provide an environment which allows for the encoding within the hippocampus of new declarative memories. The low cholinergic environment during SWS is thought to then allow these memories to be transferred from the temporary storage of the hippocampus to their permanent storage environment in the neocortex and for memory consolidation [9, 10].
A significant way of decreasing slow wave sleep in infants is by changing their sleeping position from prone to supine. It has been shown in studies of preterm infants [11, 12], full-term infants [13, 14], and older infants [15], that they have greater time periods of quiet sleep and also decreased time awake when they are positioned to sleep in the prone position.
8. Hasselmo, M.E. 1999. Neuromodulation: Acetylcholine and memory consolidation. Trends Cogn. Sci. 3: 351–359.
9. Buzsáki, G. 1989. Two-stage model of memory trace formation: A role for “noisy” brain states. Neuroscience 31: 551–570.
10. Hasselmo, M.E. 1999. Neuromodulation: Acetylcholine and memory consolidation. Trends Cogn. Sci. 3: 351–359.
11. Myers MM, Fifer WP, Schaeffer L, et al. Effects of sleeping position and time after feeding on the organization of sleep/wake states in prematurely born infants. Sleep 1998;21:343–9.
12. Sahni R, Saluja D, Schulze KF, et al. Quality of diet, body position, and time after feeding influence behavioral states in low birth weight infants. Pediatr Res 2002;52:399–404.
13. Brackbill Y, Douthitt TC, West H. Psychophysiologic effects in the neonate of prone versus supine placement. J Pediatr 1973;82:82–4.
14. Amemiya F, Vos JE, Prechtl HF. Effects of prone and supine position on heart rate, respiratory rate and motor activity in full term infants. Brain Dev 1991;3:148–54.
15. Kahn A, Rebuffat E, Sottiaux M, et al. Arousal induced by proximal esophageal reflux in infants. Sleep 1991;14:39–42.
Post a Comment