Safe sleep for infants

This article discusses Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and how to keep an infant's sleep safe.

The number of infants who die each year from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) has decreased in recent decades as awareness of safe sleeping habits has increased. Yet each year, babies still die from sudden, unexplained causes.

Most parents know that it's best for infants to sleep on their backs, rather than on their sides or bellies. But other caregivers may not -- especially if they raised their children in a time when there was less awareness about safe sleeping habits.

Leigh Brown, a health educator at Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital's Pediatric Trauma Injury Prevention Program, said a baby's sleeping environment during the first year of life is one of the biggest factors in SIDS deaths.

"It's confusing for parents because in the media you see these cribs that look all cute and soft and comfortable, when all you really need is a mattress with a tight-fitting sheet," she said.

Items such as crib bumpers, extra bedding, stuffed animals and loose sheets and blankets can cause suffocation for infants who aren't yet able to roll or extract themselves from dangerous situations.

"People have the misconception that babies are freezing, but overheating them is a risk factor as well," Brown said. "If you are comfortable in your house, they probably are as well."

If you must use a blanket with an infant, she suggests tucking it in tightly along the sides and bottom of the crib and no higher than the infant's armpit so it doesn't get near the face.

Brown says parents shouldn't bother to spend their money on items such as sleep positioners, which claim to reduce the risk of SIDS or create a safe environment.

"Those items haven't proven to be safe," she said.

Nor do parents need to worry about the infant rolling from back to side or belly during sleep. If the child is able to roll, he or she is likely able to avoid suffocation.

Many SIDS deaths occur when parents practice bed sharing -- placing the baby between the parents in a regular bed. If parents want their baby to be nearby, it's best to practice room sharing instead by placing the baby in a separate crib or cradle near but not in the adult bed.

Mothers who tend to drift off to sleep while breastfeeding their babies run the risk of having their babies wedge into the crevice of their arm and suffocate.

Exposure to secondhand smoke on an adult's clothing or in the home environment can also increase the chances of a SIDS death.

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Why Babies in Finland Sleep in Cardboard Boxes

Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes and it greatly reduces their risk of dying from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

In Finland expecting mothers can count on a baby shower gift from the government, ABC News reported.

The women are sent a box containing items such as reusable diapers, snowsuits, and other basic needs. The box comes with a mattress in the bottom and is meant to be used as a crib.

Finnish mothers-to-be get to choose between the box, or 140 euros.

Out of the 60,000 maternity grants that are issued every year, 40,000 of them are the care packages.

"The maternity box promotes [having a separate] bed for the newborn instead of sleeping in the same bed with other siblings and/or parents," said Mika Gissler, a research professor for the Finland National Institute for Health and Welfare.

The box may seem like a strange place for a baby to sleep, but it can greatly reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome.

"One thing we know about baby's sleep patterns [is that] there's a connection between [Sudden Infant Death Syndrome] and sleep environment," said Dr. Dennis Rosen, the associate medical director of Pediatric Sleep Disorders at Boston Children's hospital. "You want to keep the baby on relatively firm bedding. You don't want to cover the baby up too much...you want to keep the baby on their backs."

The government has been distributing the packages since 1937 when the Maternity Grants Act was passed in an effort to lower the infant mortality rate.

In the 1930s the mortality rate in Finland was about 65 deaths per 1,000, today that number has fallen to 3.38 deaths.

Currently, 100 percent of Finland's women receive prenatal care, which is a big jump since the 1940's when only 20 percent got help.

"[The box] can be seen as a symbol of transformation from a poor agriculture country to a [richer] industrial, welfare state," Gissler said. "It also highlights that the government's will to increase the fertility in Finland and thus it can be seen...as a guarantee for future of the country."

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Pediatric Asthma, Pulmonary & Sleep Specialist Serves Houston Suburbs with Personal Attention - Dr. Sarat Susarla joins Texas Medical & Sleep Specialists

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the country, but the suburbs continue to face a shortage of full-time pediatric specialists. Texas Medical & Sleep Specialists proudly announces that Dr. Sarat Susarla has stepped into that void to meet the needs both of infants as well as children/teens with asthma and other lung disorders.

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Working closely with families and primary care doctors while providing timely access, we can make a difference.

Houston, TX (PRWEB) July 23, 2012

Imagine driving your distressed child with asthma through 1 to 2 hours of traffic to see her specialist. Until the summer, patients and families had to face an hour or more traffic to access pediatric specialists in the Houston medical center. No more.

Texas Medical & Sleep Specialists is proud to announce that Dr. Sarat Susarla has joined our practice to provide both pediatric pulmonary & asthma care as well as sleep medicine services to the Greater Houston area.

With dual board certification in pediatric pulmonology and sleep medicine, Dr. Susarla cares for young people with a wide spectrum of respiratory disorders. Dr. Susarla welcomes consultation for infants, children, and young adults with asthma, chronic cough, wheezing, pneumonia, exercise intolerance, and respiratory problems related to prematurity.

Dr Susarla brings an expert perspective to asthma care, “I want to work with parents and community physicians to get children with asthma out of the hospital and emergency room. Working closely with families and primary care doctors while providing timely access, we can make a difference.”, said Susarla.

A pediatric pulmonologist specializes in a wide range of common and rare respiratory disorders. Dr. Susarla describes the scope of his work “Asthma is very common, but chronic respiratory problems in kids can have numerous causes. Sometimes children have symptoms very similar to asthma, but it turns out their real diagnosis is actually very different.”

Dr. Susarla offers advanced onsite lung function testing, exercise testing, as well as same-day urgent appointments. Dr. Susarla is the only private pediatric pulmonologist serving The Woodlands, Sugar Land and Memorial / West Houston area. He has staff privileges at a number of local hospitals including Texas Children's Hospital, Children's Memorial Herman Hospital, and The Woman's Hospital of Texas.

Dr. Susarla serves many of Houston's neonatal intensive care units assisting in complex cases and easing the transition to home. One of his special areas of expertise is apnea and in infancy and chronic respiratory disease in former premature infants.

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