SAFE SLEEPING FOR YOUR BABY
Every year, more than 2,500 infants in the U.S. die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), the unexplained, sudden death of an infant under 1 year old. As the No. 1 cause of death among infants aged 1 month to 1 year, SIDS is a terrifying reality that thousands of families have faced.
Although there is no 100 percent way to prevent SIDS, there are plenty of measures parents can take to lower the risk.
Here are some tips to help prevent SIDS and accidental suffocation.
Sleep alone: Make sure your baby sleeps alone in his own crib. Bed sharing increases the risk for accidental injury and suffocation. Although many parents are tempted to share their bed with a new baby, the risk for SIDS is higher if you co-sleep.
Back is best: Always place your child on his back to sleep. The risk of SIDS is doubled for infants who sleep on their stomachs. Always keep your child's head uncovered during sleep. If you are tired while holding a sleeping child, put him on his back in his crib so you can get some rest.
Crib safety: Remove anything from your child's crib that could block his flow of air, including all stuffed animals, blankets, pillows and other loose bedding. The best place for your child to sleep is in his own safety-approved crib on a firm, flat mattress.
Comfortable temperatures: Do not overheat the room where your infant sleeps. Keep the thermostat set so that it is comfortable for adults who are lightly dressed, usually between 68 degrees and 72 degrees and never more than 75 degrees.
Instead of using covers in cool weather, dress your baby in a lightweight, one-piece blanket sleeper or sleep sack to help keep him warm.
For more tips, go to www.choa.org/safesleep.
Source: Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
Every day, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta cares for almost 100 babies fighting for their lives in the neonatal intensive care unit.
A new whimsical photo series illustrates what these tiny babies might become someday: An astronaut? A ballerina? A top chef? A doctor?
To launch Children's safe sleep guidelines (www.choa.org/safesleep), the hospital released a new series of images called "From the NICU to the Moon."
Infant deaths related to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) have declined in recent years, but sleep-related death is still the leading cause of death among infants between the age of 1 month and 1 year in the U.S. and Georgia. Every year, more than 2,500 infants in the U.S. die from SIDS, the unexplained, sudden death of an infant under 1 year old.
Although there is no 100 percent way to prevent SIDS, there are plenty of measures parents can take to lower the risk. So Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta decided to develop a visual campaign to help their efforts to educate parents about the need for babies to sleep alone, on their backs and in a crib.
The number of infants dying of suffocation from sleeping on inappropriate sleep surfaces (adult beds, chairs, sofas, etc.) remains steady, and in many cases it’s preventable. Of the 155 infant sleep-related deaths reviewed in 2011 by the Georgia Child Fatality Review Panel, just over half of the deaths (80) occurred in an adult bed. (Sleep-related asphyxia can happen when a caregiver unintentionally rolls over a baby, or a baby sleeps with head or face covered.) In the 2007-2008 report, there were 268 sleep-related deaths and 131 were in a bed.
As the poster children for safe sleeping in this campaign, these five preemies (all born between 25 and 37 weeks gestation) are shown sleeping safely on their backs — and dreaming big.
The photo series started with a call to nurse leaders in the NICU at the Scottish Rite campus. The nurses identified five families who agreed to participate. The photographs were taken on Aug. 29 by an employee of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and designers at Matchstic, an Atlanta-based brand identity agency, added the darling drawings.
The result: beautiful imagery bringing attention to a very serious, even scary topic. The photo series has been picked up by blogs and news outlets across the country.
All five babies photographed are doing well. The Future Astronaut went home with his family a couple of weeks ago, and the Future Ballerina also went home recently.
Future Ballerina’s mother, Dawny Hill, said she was honored to have her daughter, Sofia, be part of the project.
Sofia weighed only 2 pounds, 14 ounces when born during an emergency C-section. Born at Northside Hospital on May 8, Sofia was transferred to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, where she underwent anti-reflux surgery and received specialized care for several months. After 158 days in the hospital, Sofia got bigger and stronger and went home Oct. 13. She now weighs 11 pounds, 10 ounces.
“It was so special,” Hill said about the photo project. “The creativity of the way the photos were done, oh my goodness. The babies had breathing tubes and other tubes and the photos were highlighted in a way that all that melted away.”
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