Aware4SIDS

SIDs is a horrible way to loose a child,I lost my daughter to this awful disease close to four years ago when she was just a little over four months old. It was a sudden and very heartbreaking point in my life and there is not a day goes by that it does not affect me. I included a few pictures and a video of her below if you would like to see them. Since loosing her I have read everything I can about the cause and prevention of SIDs and I wanted to share some of my findings and theories with others. Personally I think SIDS is some type of breathing complication that affects very young infants,that is just my opinion though. Since I have began reading up on this disease I have came across a few other ideals which can or may not be a cause of SIDS. I read an article not too long ago that spoke about historys finding concerning SIDS. One part read that in the 1900's a small group of doctors begin to suspect that some breathing defect killed many infants, but most babies with no apparent illness. In 1934 Dr. Sidney Farber published a report on "fulminating streptococcus infections in infancy as a cause of sudden death". In 1944 Dr. Harold Abramson in New York City analyzed infant deaths caused by "accidental mechanical suffocation" in the previous four years, and found 68% were sleeping on their stomachs and almost half were discovered with their nose and mouth in contact with bedding. In 1956 Dr. Lester Adelson, a pathologist who was deputy coroner in Ohio, reported on the autopsies of 126 infants, finding that "in the majority of infants and children who die suddenly and unexpectedly there is an inflammatory process in some portion of the respiratory tract." I think it undoubtably has too do with an infants breathing but how to protect against what is causing it has so many theories it is hard to know. It always has been noted that SIDS strikes when a infant is thought to be sleeping. Statistically SIDS rates are about three times higher among black and American Indian infants compared with Caucasian babies, but the rate among Latino infants in the United States is about a third lower than that seen among white infants.I have read that experts think that babies who die of the syndrome are born with physical conditions affecting their respiratory or metabolic functions that make them more vulnerable to conditions such as prone sleeping or parents who smoke. Other possible causes for SIDS have been published such as Arrhythmia,Brain stem defect,Carbon dioxide rebreathing,Developmental disorders,Environmental stress,Immune system flaw,Kidney disorder,Metabolic disorder,Toxic gas or Toxic infection.

A few helpful tips and ideals I wanted to share below. I have gathered this information from here and there and hopefully it will help.

• Put infants to sleep on their backs.
• Put babies to sleep on a firm sleep surface (a crib mattress covered by a sheet)
• Don't put soft objects such as pillows, quilts, or comforters under a sleeping baby.
• Keep soft objects, including pillows, quilts, blankets, and stuffed animals, out of babies' sleeping environment.
• Don't smoke during pregnancy.
• Infants shouldn't share beds or couches with grown-ups or other kids during sleep.
• Babies may sleep in a safe crib, bassinet, or cradle in the same room as the mother.
• Don't bring the baby to the bed of a parent who's overtired or using medications or other substances that could impair their alertness.
• Consider offering the baby a pacifier at nap time and bedtime.
• Dress babies in light clothing for sleep to avoid overheating.
• Don't overbundle the baby.
• Encourage "tummy time" for babies who are awake and are being watched.
• Don't use home monitors as a strategy to reduce SIDS risk.
• The baby's bedroom temperature should be comfortable for a lightly-clothed adult.

There was a study I read in October that showed bedroom fans may help cut the risk of SIDS. Investigators concluded that sleeping with a fan lowers SIDS risk by more than 70%.

When I found my daughter I had dressed her lightly before lying her down on her back to sleep in her bassinet. The room tempature was comfortable and her bassinet was clear of any objects or blankets. She had been giving a clean bill of health not a week earlier by her doctor and had never had any medical problems nor reason to ever visit a doctor besides her normal appointments.Noone was allowed to smoke around her or even in the house when we had visitors that smoked. She was healthy and when we recieved her autopsy after her death it read the same. Healthy, with no found cause of death.

I hope some of this information is helpful to parents and I have also added links to other sites that include more information about SIDS. For anyone who has lost a child to SIDS there is nothing I can say to take that loss away but that I understand and you are not alone.