Infant Loss & SIDS

I wanted to spotlight the American SIDS Institute.  Every year over 2500 infants in the U.S. will die due to SIDS.  With so many public campaigns and education programs SIDS deaths have been decreasing over the years but there are still too many unanswered questions and more research is still needed.  Here is what the American SIDS Institute says about it's mission and SIDS education....

Founded in 1983, the American SIDS Institute, a national nonprofit health care organization, is dedicated to the prevention of sudden infant death and the promotion of infant health through an aggressive, comprehensive nationwide program of:

Research about both the cause of sudden infant death and methods of prevention. Clinical Services assisting pediatricians in the medical management of high risk infants. Education about prevention methods aimed at the public and medical community. Family Support providing crises phone counseling, grief literature and referrals.

What is SIDS?
SIDS is the sudden death of an infant under one year of age which remains unexplained after a thorough case investigation, including performance of a complete autopsy, examination of the death scene, and review of the clinical history. (Willinger et al, 1991).

In a typical situation parents check on their supposedly sleeping infant to find him or her dead. This is the worst tragedy parents can face, a tragedy which leaves them with a sadness and a feeling of vulnerability that lasts throughout their lives. Since medicine can not tell them why their baby died, they blame themselves and often other innocent people. Their lives and those around them are changed forever.

U.S. Annual SIDS Rate per 1000 Live Births

Source: CDC and National Center for Health Statistics

What Can Be Done?

Unfortunately, we cannot expect to prevent all SIDS deaths now. To do so requires a much greater understanding of SIDS, which will be achieved only with a commitment from those who value babies and with a considerably expanded research effort. However, there are things that can be done to reduce the risk of SIDS. To read more about ways to reduce your risk of SIDS click here. The America SIDS Institute is hosting an event called Spring for SIDS: National Fundraiser and SIDS Awareness Day which will be held Friday, April 29th, 2011.  They are currently looking for people throughout the country to host this event.  Last year they raised over $162,000 dollars!  Here is what they have posted on their site.....

Spring-for-SIDS Day The American SIDS Institute is looking for people to host Spring-for-SIDS Day events to be held in April. This national event will raise awareness about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and will raise funds for research. We are asking companies and other organizations across the country to join us in our fight against SIDS by encouraging their employees to participate in Spring-for-SIDS Day. Each employee who donates $5 will be provided with a Spring-for-SIDS sticker and will be allowed to wear his fun casual spring outfit to work that day.  Volunteer to be a Spring-for-SIDS Captain at your company, school, store or other organization. A kit will be provided to all Captains, including posters, stickers, donation cards and sign-up sheets - everything you need to coordinate the event. Everyone will have fun and will feel good about being part of this effort to end SIDS. To learn more about Spring-for-SIDS, or to volunteer, go to www.springforsids.org. Are you interested?   Want to find out more....go here. Would you like to make a donation?  Click here.