I
chose sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). SIDS is one of the most single most common causes
of death in the post-neonatal period (. SIDS accounts for 35- 50% of deaths
with in the post-neonatal period. SIDS can be caused by inadequate or absent
prenatal care, smoking during and/or after pregnancy, illegal drug use,
especially cocaine and heroine, alcohol use during pregnancy, maternal age less
than 20, recurrent pregnancy occurring within 1 year of last pregnancy, being
exposed to cigarette smoke, and infants who are placed on their tummies or side
to sleep. Research shows that children from different ethnicities are at higher
risk; these ethnic groups include African Americans, American Indians, and
Alaskan Natives. I thought it was very important for parents in my community
to understand the affects of SIDS on young infants. I feel that it is extremely
important for families and care takers of infants to understand the harm that
can be done to an infant by sleeping in the wrong positions. In Germany in 2002
a total of 359 infants died from SIDS. SIDS is still the leading cause of death
after post-neonatal period. German research shows SIDS is caused by prone
sleeping position, the mother smoking, and heat stress. Now I feel more aware and
more educated on the topic were I can be careful on prenatal care, and the
proper way a baby should sleep.
Carolan,
Patrick L. (2009) Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, Medscape References.
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article
Vennemann, MMT. (2005) Modifiable Risk Factors of SIDS in Germany: Results of
GeSID, Acta Padiatrica
Hi Amanda,
ReplyDeleteIt surprises me that some ethnicities are of higher risks of SIDS, and I also learned from your post that SIDS could be caused by wrong sleeping positions. Thanks for your information.
Karie
Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI am constantly talking to my parents about SIDS. Most of my parents are you (21-23). They sleep with their babies in the bed with them and the dad or other children. When they lay the baby down it is on their tummy or any position that they put them in. Some of the parents even sleep with the baby on top of them. It is scary because they don't seem to understand the seriousness of the matter. I myself was afraid to let my oldest child sleep in his crib. I was constantly checking on him to make sure he was okay. My grandmother would say, "I layed you on your stomach and you are still alive." Parents need to be educated on SIDS. Thank you for the link.
What an awful thing to loose a child to.
ReplyDeleteI have a colleague and wife that did loose a baby to SIDS. That was almost 20 years ago. Much research has been done since then. Let's hope the hard work of researches gets to the great population for prevention for preventable loss of life .