Mississippi SIDS Alliance

Education

Education

The Mississippi SIDS Alliance strives to provide pertinent and timely information. We have listed an overview of SIDS, Frequently Asked Questions, and Suggested Reading for you to view.

If you have questions, or should need assistance, please call the MS SIDS Alliance at 1-877-471-SIDS (7437), or (601) 859-8900.

Our email address is: lesliethreadgill@bellsouth.net.

Or you may reach us by mail at: MS SIDS Alliance, PO BOX 2170, Madison, MS 39130-2170. The Alliance is located at 276 Nissan Parkway, Ste. D, Canton, MS 39046.

Hearing Test Might Help Predict SIDS

A new approach to preventing sudden infant death syndrome
By Phyllis McIntosh

The simple hearing test given to newborns might help predict which babies are at risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), a new study suggests.

The rate of SIDS has fallen more than 50 percent since 1983, according to the American SIDS Institute. But there are still about 2,500 sudden infant deaths per year in the United States—and thousands more around the world.

In search of the cause of this mysterious occurrence, a team of researchers at Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle analyzed data on 31 infants who had died of SIDS. What did they discover? On a standard hearing test that is routinely administered soon after birth, each baby who succumbed to SIDS had scored lower in the right ear than healthy babies typically do.

The link? Tiny hair cells in the inner ear may help transmit information to the brain about the levels of carbon dioxide in the blood. The researchers think that damage to those cells might disrupt control of the respiratory system, placing the babies at risk of sudden death.

Hazardous Use of Car Seats Outside the Car in the United States

By Shital N. Parikh, MD, Lindsay Wilson, BA, CCRP (Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio)

Purpose Car seats should be used to prevent injury or death in children during motor vehicle crashes. When used improperly or for unintended purposes, car seats can place children at risk for injury or death. The objective of this article is to describe patterns of hazardous use of car seats outside the car for infants (<1-year-olds) in the United States from 2003 to 2007.

Methods
The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission database was accessed to obtain information regarding car seat–related injuries treated in emergency departments from 2003 to 2007. Injuries sustained during motor vehicle crashes were excluded. Demographic data, type of injury, body location, disposition, injury circumstances, and other pertinent information were extracted and analyzed.

Results
An estimated 43562 car seat–related injuries were treated in emergency departments from 2003 to 2007. This national estimate was based on a weighted sample of 1898 infants. The average age of these infants was 4.07 ± 2.73 months, 62.4% of the injuries occurred in infants younger than 4 months, and 54.4% occurred in boys. Of these injuries, 49.1% occurred at home, 8.4% of the infants had to be hospitalized, and 84.3% of the infants suffered a head injury. The most common mechanisms of injury were infants falling from car seats, car seats falling from elevated surfaces, and car seats overturning on soft surfaces.

Conclusions
Injury-prevention efforts should be focused on eliminating hazardous use of car seats outside the car. Caregivers should be cautioned against the placement of car seats on elevated or soft surfaces.

Swaddling Recommendations by Dr. Rachel Y. Moon

Physiologic studies show that swaddling decreases arousals, decreases awakenings and increases sleep duration.

Swaddling increases arousal threshold particularly in those who easily wake when swaddled and those who are not routinely swaddled. This can be good (baby sleeps longer) or bad (baby doesn't wake as easily).
Tight swaddling can make it more difficult for the baby to breathe, and some babies have increased respiratory rates when swaddled. Tight swaddling can make hip dysplasia worse if the legs are kept straight down.

Swaddling may increase overheating especially if the head is covered or the baby is sick, but Richardson et al found no increase in skin temperature if the baby was swaddled in a light cotton blankets from the shoulders down.

Some studies suggest a decrease in SIDS rate with swaddling if the infant is supine but there is increased risk of SIDS if the infant is swaddled and placed prone. We are in the process of surveying parents about swaddling behaviors. Some of the preliminary data suggest that parents who usually don't use supine positioning will place their babies supine if they are swaddled. So swaddling may encourage supine positioning and may help with the "retraining" process for usual prone or side sleepers.

Swaddling may be helpful as a strategy to calm the infant and encourage use of supine sleep position. A light receiving blanket should be used and the infant should not be overdressed to avoid overheating. Swaddle should not cover baby's head or face. Swaddle probably should not be used if the baby is sick (has a fever). The swaddle should be tight enough that it does not become loose, but not too tight as to restrict respirations and hip movements.

Swaddled infants should NEVER be placed in the side or prone position and swaddling should be discontinued after the infants is 3 months of age or after the infant begins to roll, whichever occurs earlier. If the swaddle becomes too loose, the blanket should be removed from the sleep area.

Rachel Y. Moon, MD Director, Academic Development Associate Chief, Division of General Pediatrics and Community Health Goldberg Center for Community Pediatric Health Children's National Medical Center Professor of Pediatrics George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Science.

How to "Swaddle" shown below:

Diagram Swadling Babies

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