Page 8 - Florida Sentinel 1-28-20

Local
Tampa Woman Explores Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
of
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Her presentation, Build-
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The donation includes
Hosts Luncheon
DEBORA M. COTY ...Award-Winning Author, Guest Speaker
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BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
During the first year of life, infants face a variety of diseases that could result in their deaths. Most of these illnesses or diseases can be prevented if detected in time.
However, one illness that results in the deaths of in- fants every year is the Sud- den Infant Death Syndrome, also known as SIDS.
Scientists, physicians, and researchers have yet to determine the exact trigger that results in SIDS. How- ever, they have made inroads as to what could cause SIDS.
Ms. Megan Atkison, a Director of a local childcare facility was given an assign- ment as part of her recertifi- cation process. She selected the subject of SIDS “because I always had an interest in SIDS because it is so powerful.”
As a result of her re- search, Ms. Atkison learned that winter is the most common months of Sudden Infant Death Syn- drome. The number of in- fants who die of SIDS rises in the winter. Ninety percent of these deaths occur in infants up to 6 months old. During these colder months, parents often place extra blankets or
MEGAN ATKISON
clothes on infants to give them more warmth. The extra material may increase infants’ risk for SIDS accord- ing to the NICHD news re- lease.
What is the cause of SIDS?
“While the cause of SIDS is unknown, many clinicians and researches believe that SIDS is associated with prob- lems in the ability of the baby to arouse from sleep, to de- tect low level of oxygen or a buildup of carbon dioxide in the blood. When babies sleep face down, they may re- breathe exhaled carbon diox- ide.
“A combination of physi- cal and sleep environmental factors can make an infant more vulnerable to SIDS.
These factors vary from child to child. Soft bedding is the top cause of sleep-related suffocation death among in- fants. Other risk factors are stomach/side sleeping, expo- sure to nicotine in cigarette smoke, prenatal exposure to drugs or alcohol, late or no prenatal care, and prematu- rity. The CDC states approx- imately 69% of the SIDS cases involve soft bedding like a blanket or pillow, 19% occurred when a person was on top or against the infant and in 12%, the infant was wedged between objects,” she said.
According to her re- search, the risk factors to SIDS include: boys are slightly more likely to die of SIDS; infants between the second and fourth month of life; and non-white infants are more likely to develop SIDS and second hand smoke.
Since the American Acad- emy of Pediatrics issued its safe sleep recommendation in 1992 and launched its “Back to Sleep” campaign in 1994, the SIDS rate has dropped more than 60% in 2015, the CDC noted SIDS rates declined considerably from 130.3 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 35.4 deaths per 100,000 live birth in 2017.
Health professionals play a critical role in advising par- ents how to sleep their in- fants safely to minimize the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Sleeping Acci- dents. Infants should be placed on their backs to sleep in a cot/crib with a firm well- fitting mattress in the parental bedroom with not soft or loose bedding which could obstruct the airway.
PAGE 8 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2020