Hayes Foundation to Join CJ Foundation for SIDS

“This is a magical day for me and everyone who has helped the Hayes Foundation get to this point,” said Oliver, founder and executive director of the Hayes Foundation. “It’s overwhelming to think about how small we were when we started and now have the opportunity to partner with the CJ Foundation. I’m honored the Hayes Foundation is joining such an impactful organization, an organization that can take us to new levels of raising awareness of SIDS in Richmond and beyond.”

“One of our goals with the This Side Up campaign has been to spread our message across the country and beyond,” said Oliver, who will join the CJ Foundation’s board of directors. “The CJ Foundation will be able to take the This Side Upcampaign to another level and guide its growth. We now have the onesies in English, Spanish and Vietnamese – I would like to see them in every language one day.”

Click here to read the full press release.

Hayes Foundation to Join CJ Foundation for SIDS

“This is a magical day for me and everyone who has helped the Hayes Foundation get to this point,” said Oliver, founder and executive director of the Hayes Foundation. “It’s overwhelming to think about how small we were when we started and now have the opportunity to partner with the CJ Foundation. I’m honored the Hayes Foundation is joining such an impactful organization, an organization that can take us to new levels of raising awareness of SIDS in Richmond and beyond.”

“One of our goals with the This Side Up campaign has been to spread our message across the country and beyond,” said Oliver, who will join the CJ Foundation’s board of directors. “The CJ Foundation will be able to take the This Side Upcampaign to another level and guide its growth. We now have the onesies in English, Spanish and Vietnamese – I would like to see them in every language one day.”

Click here to read the full press release.

A new Australian study finds that babies who sleep on their stomachs -- a position thought to pose a risk for SIDS -- have lower levels of oxygen in their brains than those who sleep on their backs.

Click here for the full article.

US House of Representatives proposes deeper cuts to Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant. This cut could end lifesaving research and essential services including prenatal and well-child care.

Contact your House representative and urge them to fight cuts to MCHB, HRSA, NIH and CDC. You can find information on your representative by visiting www.house.gov.

Click here to learn more.

Robert Redford talks about losing his son to SIDS.

I am so grateful Robert Redford is willing to share his story and express his feelings about losing his son to SIDS. It’s true that the pain never goes away, you just learn to live with it. Here’s Robert’s story.

Legendary actor Robert Redford is opening up about SIDS, and the impact it has had on his personal life. In doing so, he is also opening up some incredibly painful and very old wounds.

According to Popeater, Redford will appear in the March/April issue of AARP Magazine. His cover story details the tragedy of losing his infant son to SIDS more than fifty years ago.

Redford says he has never gotten over losing his son. He and his first wife, Lola Van Wagenen went on to have three additional children following the loss of their 5-month-old baby boy, but he claims the grief never fully went away.

"It was really hard," Redford said in AARP Magazine. "We were very young. I had my first theater job. which didn't pay much. We didn't know anything about SIDS, so the only thing you think is that you've done something wrong. As a parent, you blame yourself. That creates a scar that never completely heals."

Click here for the full story.

Kyra Oliver Shares Her Story With CBS's Virginia This Morning.

Click here to see the full interview

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NIH alerts caregivers to increase in SIDS risk during cold weather

Extra blankets, warm clothes, may lead to dangerous overheating

Parents and caregivers can take steps to reduce the risks of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) during the colder months, when infants are at higher risk, according to the National Institutes of Health.

These include avoiding overheating an infant during nap or sleep time; placing the infant on his or her back to sleep; placing infants to sleep on a firm, safety approved mattress; keeping toys, blankets, and other loose objects out of the crib, and never smoking around an infant.

Click here for the full article

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This Side Up campaign launches partnership with the Healthy Start Coalition of SW Florida!

I am so excited to to share this story from our 3 press conferences held yesterday. It was the official launch of our partnership of the This Side Up (TSU) Campaign with the Healthy Start Coalition of Southwest Florida. Every baby delivered in a birthing hospital in Southwest Florida will go home with a TSU onesie!

To read the full story:

http://www.news-press.com/article/20100924/HEALTH/100923079/1075/Lee-County-ceremony-mourns-infants--lives-cut-short

Hayes Foundation Raises $100,000 to Combat SIDS

The Country Club of Virginia was the site May 15th for the eighth annual Hayes Foundation State of the Art Ball, a black-tie fundraiser themed this year around "Bond, James Bond, Baby."

Just in recent weeks, we've implemented - via hospital educators - a This Side Up survey to be given to prospective parents... to help us gauge their awareness and understanding of SIDS," Oliver said.

"Ukrop's Dress Express President, John Carrico, sizes up a This Side Up onesie with the help of Kyra Oliver, Founder and Executive Director."

Click here to read the full story printed in the Richmond Times Dispatch.

Study May Show Cause of SIDS

This week a study was released that shows in its preliminary data that scientists are coming closer to determining another factor – and perhaps the cause – of SIDS deaths. Reported last night on NBC’s Nightly News and this morning on the Today Show, the study – led by Children’s Hospital Boston – found that babies who died of SIDS had reduced levels of a chemical called serotonin, which helps regulate breathing, blood pressure and heart rate in the brain during sleep. Essentially, if a baby with low levels of serotonin is put face down in the crib and begins to re-breathe carbon dioxide, it may not be able to respond correctly by lifting or turning its head and waking up.

While we still have a ways to go to understand SIDS completely, this is a very encouraging step in the right direction. Researchers will work towards a screening test for serotonin levels in a baby’s brain so that we can identify babies who may be at greater risk for SIDS.

Furthermore, the study supports the practice of reducing the risk of putting babies on their backs at nap or bed time to reduce the risks of SIDS. Our educational onesies include several safe sleeping tips on the back, which I’ve listed below. Check out www.thissideupcampaign.org to learn more about our efforts.

Keep me safe by:
· Placing me on my back while sleeping

· Giving me a pacifier at nap and bed time

· Keeping me out of a grown-up’s bed

· Removing all toys from where I sleep

· Not allowing adults to smoke around me

· Keeping me from getting overheated

· Breastfeeding me as often as possible

Kyra Oliver tells Richmond Family Magazine why it is important to be educated and to educate others.

"New information is being discovered all the time," says Kyra. "And that's part of our goal - not just to educate parents about what we already know about SIDS, but also to learn more about risk factors that can be avoided in the future.

"We were doing everything right," says Sarah Webster, who lost her daughter to SIDS. "Alexandra breastfed right away with no problems. We always put her down on her back and we know the sitter did the same."

"Ultimately it comes down to what is best for the family," Kyra Oliver says. "If you have a child who just will not sleep on his back, then you may have to adjust your plans. You can't go day after day without sleep, so you just do the best you can."


To download the full article:
http://www.hayeshitzemanfoundation.org/docs/richmondfamilylr%20(2).pdf

Ads Perpetuate Unsafe Sleeping

The Back to Sleep campaign officially launched in 1994 to educate caregivers that babies are safest from the risk of SIDS when sleeping on their backs.

Fifteen years later and almost every time you see a picture of a baby sleeping – whether it is in an ad or to show off a professional photographer’s portfolio – the baby is sleeping on his stomach. U.S. News and World Report highlighted this dichotomy in a piece this week, which included other safe-sleeping tips.

The message advertisers send when they show babies sleeping on their stomachs is irresponsible in light of what researchers have learned about SIDS. It’s time companies stop sending mixed messages.

People act on what they see or hear. Fifteen years after Back to Sleep, there obviously is the need for more education. That’s why we started the This Side Up campaign.

Hayes Foundation/This Side Up Campaign Featured in Woman's World

This week's (Aug. 17) Woman's World magazine features the Hayes Foundation and our This Side Up campaign.

Very exciting and a little nerve-racking at the same time. Three years ago, we had an idea for a campaign to raise awareness of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), and today, we're highlighted in the "Doing Good" section of Woman's World, which has a circulation of 1.3 million.

Check it out here: http://www.thissideupcampaign.org/documents/womansworldfull.pdf

Virginia Sees Drop in Infant Mortality

Some very exciting news to share!

Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine announced today that the state’s infant mortality rate dropped from 7.7 deaths per 1,000 births in 2007 to 6.7 deaths per 1,000 births in 2008 – its lowest rate ever.

Of special note to me was a statistic delivered by Dr. Karen Remley, the Virginia Health Commissioner: there were 22 fewer SIDS or safe-sleeping-related deaths in 2008 than in 2007.

This is terrific news and something that all who have been involved at the state, local and private level should be proud. I’d like to think we have contributed by educating parents, grandparents and all caregivers that babies are safest from the risk of SIDS when sleeping on their backs…or This Side Up.

Our This Side Up campaign was announced in March of 2006 and was implemented in a handful of hospitals later that year. Since then, we’ve grown to nearly 20 Virginia hospitals, and we were especially honored to include our onesies in the New Parent Kits provided to Central Virginia parents through a partnership with Gov. Kaine’s Smart Beginnings initiative, Ukrop’s Super Markets Inc., Ukrop’s Dress Express and Pampers.

I applaud Gov. Kaine and all who have been involved - today is a big step forward. But, I also know that there’s more work to be done.

This Side Up Campaign Is Now In Florida

I am so proud that we are now in Florida! Our goal is to educate everyone-- mom's, dad's grandparents, siblings, anyone who keeps your child, so that NO ONE has to go through the tragedy of losing a child. 

We need to get this campaign across the country. The thing that is so special about this campaign is that the onesie is a way to educate without putting so much fear into our minds. What I mean is that no one wants to talk about SIDS-- they will turn their heads at the thought. It is too much. However, the onesie is adorable and opens the conversation. And if they don't want to talk, they will still get the message because the onesie is loaded with tips that may help. 

Kate Santich, a writer for the Orlando Sentinel,  joined us at the press conference last week. Read her perspective. She shares information about what Florida is doing to help save babies. She also notes the help of Matt Bryant, Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker who also joined us at the press conference. 

The campaign is a joint effort by the Health Council of East Central Floridaand the Hayes Foundation, started in 2002 by Kyra Oliver of Richmond, Va., who lost her son Hayes to SIDS. Their mission, thanks to a $31,000 grant, is to send every baby born at an Orange County hospital home with a onesie that has "This Side Up… while sleeping" printed on the front.

Thank you, Florida!