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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