Survey shows better knowledge of SIDS
Posted: Tuesday, April 08, 2008
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- A new Health Department survey finds that a slightly larger percentage of new mothers know that a baby sleeping on its back is less susceptible to sudden infant death syndrome.
In 2007, 84.3 percent of new mothers surveyed by the Department of Health said their babies slept on their backs. That's up from 80.8 percent in 2005.
The 2007 South Dakota Perinatal Risk Assessment surveyed almost 900 new mothers. The survey is taken every two years.
Research indicates that babies who sleep face-up are less likely to suffocate in their sleep and typically are less strained in their breathing, which reduces physical stress. Such stress in babies is thought to lead to SIDS.
The American Academy of Pediatrics in 1992 began recommending face-up sleeping for babies up to age 1.
Pediatrician Dr. Kara Bruning of McGreevy Clinic Avera said she thinks parents understand the risks involved when babies sleep on their sides or stomachs.
"I think the majority get the message that babies need to go to sleep on their backs," Bruning said.
But there's still work to be done, said Minnehaha County coroner Dr. Brad Randall.
"I personally don't believe those figures," said Randall, who's also chairman of the Regional Infant and Child Mortality Review Committee. The committee was established in 1997 to identify and examine causes of death in children.
Randall said he fears parents surveyed might be telling researchers what they think they want to hear rather than the truth.
"I have no reason to believe they aren't true; I'm just a little skeptical," Randall said.
Bruning said she comes across parents who resist the advice.
"But I can't go into their house and roll their baby over for them," she said.
In 2007, 84.3 percent of new mothers surveyed by the Department of Health said their babies slept on their backs. That's up from 80.8 percent in 2005.
The 2007 South Dakota Perinatal Risk Assessment surveyed almost 900 new mothers. The survey is taken every two years.
Research indicates that babies who sleep face-up are less likely to suffocate in their sleep and typically are less strained in their breathing, which reduces physical stress. Such stress in babies is thought to lead to SIDS.
The American Academy of Pediatrics in 1992 began recommending face-up sleeping for babies up to age 1.
Pediatrician Dr. Kara Bruning of McGreevy Clinic Avera said she thinks parents understand the risks involved when babies sleep on their sides or stomachs.
"I think the majority get the message that babies need to go to sleep on their backs," Bruning said.
But there's still work to be done, said Minnehaha County coroner Dr. Brad Randall.
"I personally don't believe those figures," said Randall, who's also chairman of the Regional Infant and Child Mortality Review Committee. The committee was established in 1997 to identify and examine causes of death in children.
Randall said he fears parents surveyed might be telling researchers what they think they want to hear rather than the truth.
"I have no reason to believe they aren't true; I'm just a little skeptical," Randall said.
Bruning said she comes across parents who resist the advice.
"But I can't go into their house and roll their baby over for them," she said.
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NJTOM wrote on Apr 10, 2008 6:17 PM:
Does the American Academy of Pediatrics have any recommendations on all the Developmental Delays and autism-like symptoms caused by keeping an infant constantly on it's back during the first year of it's life? What does the AAP tell a parent who's child is suffering from plagiocephaly, torticollis, and psychomotor delays? The Sioux City Journal should not be simply printing propaganda because the medical community says something. The medical community once said thalidomide was OK too. "