Gifts

I often volunteer at various walks and runs that raise money for certain causes that I feel strongly about, like the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, which is put on annually to raise money for breast cancer research. These runs are often emotional even if you don’t know anyone who has the ailment that you’re running for. While among the thousands of survivors, loved ones of those who have been lost to breast cancer and people who just want to help like myself it is easy to become overwhelmed by the bittersweet mix of feelings. You are sad for those who have lost their lives but at the same time overjoyed at the amount of support coming from the thousands of people all joined together for one purpose.

I have done many of these types of benefits but the one that affects me the most is the SIDS walk/run that I volunteered at. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is one of the leading causes of death among infants one month through one year of age in the United States. The sudden, unexpected death of an infant to SIDS is such a heartbreaking loss. Death happens suddenly, leaving the family no time to prepare, not that you could ever be prepared to lose a child.

It’s almost haunting as I remember walking by the hundreds of pictures of these tiny little people, all who had been stolen by this mysterious cause of death. SIDS can not be predicted or prevented but here are ways to lessen your child’s risk of SIDS.

• Have your baby sleep on their back for the first year. Letting a baby sleep on their stomach gives them a much higher risk of SIDS.
• Place baby on a firm mattress with no pillows or fluffy blankets. Suffocation caused by these things has been associated with a higher SIDS rate.
• Do not smoke, drink, or use drugs while pregnant and do not expose your baby to secondhand smoke. According to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development’s figures indicate that children of mothers who smoked during pregnancy are three times more likely to die of SIDS than those whose mothers were smoke-free; exposure to secondhand smoke doubles a baby’s risk of SIDS.
• If possible, breastfeed. Although there is no evidence that directly links breastfeeding with a decreased rate of SIDS, breast milk is thought to keep babies healthy.
• Limit your baby’s exposure to people who have respiratory infections. This means if you know someone is sick, don’t let them around your baby, and try to avoid taking your baby to crowded places where there may be sick people.
• Make sure your baby does not get too warm while sleeping. To avoid overheating, cover the baby only with a light blanket that reaches no further than the shoulders. Some researchers suggest that a baby who gets too warm could go into a deeper sleep, making it more difficult to awaken.

For parents who have experienced a SIDS death, there are many groups, including the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Alliance, that provide grief counseling and contacts to local support groups. Growing public awareness of SIDS and the steps to reduce infants’ risk of SIDS hopefully will leave fewer parents searching for answers in the future.

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