1 month - 1 year olds

No found reasoning of death

“Crib death”

SmokingSmoking DrinkingDrinking Drug useDrug use

Less than 20 years oldLess than 20 years old Low weight gainLow weight gain

STDs or urinary tract STDs or urinary tract infectioninfection

Poor prenatal carePoor prenatal care

Risk FactorsRisk FactorsDURING

PREGNANCY

After pregnancy

Stomach sleeping Prematurity

Low birth weight

Exposure to smoke after birth

OverheatingFrom clothes or

bedding

Newborns with a heart abnormality were 41 times more likely to be at risk.

The Facts All kinds of families

Not racist Seemingly healthy

infants Fall and winter

months have most cases

Before 6 months 1-4 months

During sleep No signs of suffering

Most likely to happen: Boys Premature and low-

weight infants Twins and triplets

Leading cause of death in infants between 1 month-1 year

Determined after all else ruled out

NO ONE KNOWS THAT CAUSES SIDS!

SIDS PREVENTION

Back to sleep An infant should be

put to sleep on its back

New parents should talk to doctor about sleeping positions

Some health conditions require tummy-down sleeping

Non-fluffy bedding Sleep on firm

mattress or surface Avoid using fluffy

accessories under infant

Infant under 1 year should not sleep on waterbed or with stuffed toys

Good prenatal care Proper nutrition Avoiding alcohol,

drugs and smoking Frequent checkups

starting early in the pregnancyHelps prevent or

detect abnormalities

No smoking Infants born to

mothers who smoked during pregnancy are 3x more likely to die from SIDS

Exposure after birth doubles risk

Negative impact on lung development

Smoke-free environment CRUCIAL

Cool room temperature

Overheated- more likely to go into a deep sleepIt is hard to wake

them

OverheatClothingHeavy beddingRoom too warm

Breastfeeding

Less common Breast milk can

provide extra protection and immunity from infections that can trigger SIDS

Regular Health Care Regular checkups and

have immunization shots on schedule

May be genetic Not strong connection

Doctor should be told if SIDS is in family history

Genetic blood screening test can be done to see if parent carries a contributing gene

Infant may be tested after birth

Add a fan

Recent studies show that rooms having a fan in the room to help ventilation has lowered the risk of SIDS

SIDS IS NOT: Contagious Caused by

immunization Caused by child

abuse Caused by vomiting,

choking, colds or infections

The cause of every unexpected infant death

Anyone’s fault

SBS

What is SBS?

Shaken Baby Syndrome

Group of symptoms resulting from the shaking of a small child and/or a child’s head hitting something

Small children have weak neck muscles and large, heavy heads

Neck muscles cannot support head well

When infant is shaken, brain is tossed around inside of head.

The pressure can cause retina to bleed- blindness

Blood vessels feeding the brain are torn away Brain damage or

abnormalities Bleeding inside of skull

More pressure

Symptoms of shaking

Limp arms and legs Excessive drooling Seizures Death Unexplained

vomiting Not breathing No pulse

Heart stops

Long-term consequences

Mental retardation Problems seeing

correctly or blindness

Speech disabilities Seizures Learning disabilities Hearing Loss Physical disabilities Death

Why and how does this happen? No empathy for child Poor coping skills to

handle child Frustration Shakes the baby

with a harmful amount of forceIt is not known how

much force is required to cause brain injury when infant is shaken.

Ways to calm down Take several deep

breaths and count to ten Say the alphabet Read a poem that gives

you inspiration Put the infant in a safe

place, then leave the room for a few minutes

Create a new, distracting noise to get the infant’s attention. Do not make the noise too loud.

Close your eyes and think of something pleasant

Ask someone else to help—a crisis hotline may be available

Try hugging and cuddling the infant.

Try gentle motion, like rocking or an infant swing

Works cited

SIDS www.nichd.nih.gov/

sids www.sidscenter.org www.sidscanada.org Mrs. Hanock’s

handout

SBS www.shakenbaby.co

m Mrs. Hanock’s

handout