Simon's Fund » SIDS

Babies Dying in Unsafe Settings

dsudman — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 23:25:17 +0000

This New Mexico study suggests that many babies in the study died in unsafe settings. For some reason, the SIDS and SUDS community doesn’t talk about sudden cardiac arrest. According to Dr. Michael Ackerman at the Mayo Clinic, up to 30% of all unexplained infant deaths are attributed to sudden cardiac arrest. If a baby dies, the parents should be told to get their hearts checked . . . period.

By LEE BOWMAN, Scripps Howard News Service

WASHINGTON – Babies are dying in places where they should never be laid down to sleep, despite the presence of cribs in their homes, new research presented at a gathering of the nation’s pediatricians shows. A team from the University of New Mexico and the state’s Medical Investigator’s office reviewed information on 91 children under age 1 who died in the state between 2006 and 2010.

Jessica Black, a third-year student at the medical school and lead author of the study, was scheduled to present the findings Monday at the American Academy of Pediatrics’ national meeting in Boston. Included in the study were 59 babies whose deaths were classified as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or Sudden Unexplained Infant Death and 28 for whom the cause of death was undetermined. New Mexico has a statewide medical examiner system and child death review panel that investigates all infant deaths not attributed to a specific disease or condition.

Rethinking SIDS: Many Deaths No Longer A Mystery

creativemms — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 19:28:18 +0000

The coroner said that Simon died of SIDS. However, that answer was not good enough for us because it doesn’t really mean anything. I’m glad that other people are starting to dig deeper into SIDS . However, I’m very disappointed that this article only talks about back to sleep campaigns. There is a Mayo Clinic study that shows that Long QT Syndrome is responsible for up to 15% of SIDS deaths. Why aren’t we talking about that?

The thought of a baby dying suddenly and unexpectedly is one that keeps parents awake at night, fearing the worst. For years, little was known about sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS. Babies would die in their sleep, and it was presumed that little could be done to prevent those deaths.

Today in the U.S., more than 2,000 babies die of SIDS every year, according to government figures.

But the mystery surrounding SIDS is not what it once was. Many SIDS deaths are now believed to be accidents caused by unsafe sleep practices. And some are questioning whether the term SIDS remains relevant at all.

SIDS: A ‘Diagnosis Of Exclusion’

In Wayne County, Mich., 50 to 60 infants die suddenly and unexpectedly each year, most of them in Detroit.

For the past 11 years, the task of investigating those cases has fallen to Pat Tackitt, a pediatric mortality investigator for the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office.

When an infant dies, law enforcement will contact her. She’ll head out immediately to the family’s home, spending anywhere from one to five hours talking with the family, using a doll to help parents re-enact what happened.

Full Story

Autopsy Shows SIDS??????????

darren — Sat, 07 May 2011 10:44:42 +0000

This is ridiculous. There is nothing that can be found in an autopsy that will show Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Either this is careless journalism or careless medicine. Let’s get our facts straight so that we can help the public understand, not add to the misinformation. The autopsy revealed nothing, so they are going to classify it as SIDS. They have no idea what the caused the death, so they are going to call it SIDS. They could get the family’s heart checked. While they continue to research for THE cause of SIDS, we know that up to 15% of all SIDS deaths are from Long QT Syndrome. Why don’t we talk about that?

OCEAN SPRINGS — An autopsy performed today shows the baby found unresponsive at an Ocean Springs home Thursday afternoon died of sudden infant death syndrome, Jackson County Coroner Vicki Broadus said.

Olivia Faith Palenchat was 9 weeks old and lived on Bayou Place.

Police Lt. John Fowler said the infant was at the home of a babysitter on Barbara Court when emergency personnel were called.

Coroners Can Save Lives

darren — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:31:56 +0000

Hmmm . . . I thought that a coroner’s patient was already dead. True, but the information that she shares with surviving family members can save lives.

Such is our case. When Simon died, our coroner said, “Babies don’t just die. Get your hearts checked.” We did, and Phyllis discovered that she had Long QT Syndrome, an electrical abnormality of the heart’s rhythm. Without this advice, we would have been like thousands of other parents, wondering what SIDS really meant and feeling helpless.

A study out of the Mayo Clinic shows that 10 – 15% of SIDS deaths are attributed to Long QT Syndrome, but for some reason, this message is not being shared. Parents are not being advised to get their hearts checked when their baby dies. For so many, SIDS is the only explanation they’ll receive.

Whenever my Google alerts identify another SIDS death, I try to contact the coroner cited in the article. Today, I spoke with someone at the Blaine County Coroner’s Office in Idaho. A five month old child died last week. I just want to make sure that they considered the heart like our coroner did. I just want to make sure that the family gets all of the information.

I’ve learned that I can’t make that assumption.

Full article

SIDS Confuses Medical Authorities

darren — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:54:19 +0000

Nick and Ashley Maloney want to understand why their 14-week-old infant died in February while napping at a baby sitter’s home.

Mom took care of herself during the pregnancy and saw a doctor for prenatal care. A seemingly healthy Luke received routine pediatric care after his birth in November.

The Beavercreek couple made sure their son slept in a safe crib at home and at the baby sitter’s residence.

“Doctors said it was SIDS, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. We’ll never know what actually happened to him,” Nick Maloney said. “He was perfect. Luke was our first and only child. We tried to do everything right.”

About 175 children die in Ohio annually due to a sleep-related incident, including about 50 with SIDS listed as the cause of death.

Full story

Misleading – Autopsy Show SIDS

darren — Sat, 29 May 2010 21:51:03 +0000

An autopsy cannot show SIDS. An autopsy can only rule out other things. This is irresponsible reporting, or worse, an irresponsible finding.

A report from the Hamilton County Medical Examiner’s office says that 9-month-old Ryder Brown died of “Sudden Infant Death Syndrome,” commonly known as SIDS.

The child was found dead in an East Brainerd apartment May 12.

The report says all toxicology tests were negative, there were no outward signs of trauma, physical abuse or injury by drugs or alcohol and the child had no known medical history.

The babysitter, Julie Jack, was charged with aggravated child neglect after she left the child in the care of another person who police say was unfit to care for a child. That person has not been charged. Jennifer Bruce, the child’s mother, told NewsChannel 9 “He was the one that was completely incoherent and messed up on all kinds of pills.”

State Worried About Increase of SIDS

darren — Sat, 22 May 2010 21:00:11 +0000

RALEIGH, N.C. — The number of North Carolina children who died from sudden infant death syndrome spiked in 2008, and advocates don’t have a clear explanation why.

The state Child Fatality Task Force released its annual report on Monday. Most of the data was known last fall, but the report combines the numbers with specific recommendations for action.

In particular, the task force wants the General Assembly to preserve funding levels for programs like Back to Sleep, which helps educate parents about SIDS.

The report found that the number of SIDS deaths jumped by 39 percent between 2007 and 2008, rising from 98 to 136.

Task force co-chairman Tom Vitaglione says researchers don’t yet have an explanation for the increase.

Congress Urged to Deal with SIDS

darren — Sat, 22 May 2010 20:32:44 +0000

WASHINGTON – Newborn survival advocates roamed Capitol Hill early this week urging Congress to act on measures to improve investigations and data about infant deaths and stillbirths.

We’re not using what our lost babies can teach us to help avoid this happening to someone else,” Laura Crandall, whose daughter, Maria, died in her crib of unexplained causes at 15 months of age, told a forum held for congressional staff Tuesday.

Crandall and more than 30 other parents and family members affected by stillbirths and unexplained infant deaths are advocating passage of the Stillbirth and Sudden Unexplained Infant Death Prevention, Education and Awareness Act.

Full Story

French Research Shows SIDS Linked to Heart

darren — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 01:51:21 +0000

French scientists are claiming to have identified an anomaly in the hearts of victims of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) that could pinpoint newborn babies at risk with a simple blood test.

The research team at the University of Strasbourg believes so-called cot death babies have a fault in the regulation of the heartbeat causing it to slow down to the point where it stops altogether.

This fault is caused by the heart absorbing too much of a chemical produced by the cardiac nerve, which controls the heart rate, it says. It believes the anomaly can be identified by an enzyme in white blood cells.

Complete story

Infant Dies

darren — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 02:39:44 +0000

It’s too easy to call it SIDS. That means the doctor couldn’t find anything. But baby’s hearts just don’t stop beating. Parents, please get your hearts checked.

Baby, 3 weeks, was found unresponsive Wednesday

Updated: Thursday, 11 Feb 2010, 3:53 PM EST
Published : Thursday, 11 Feb 2010, 3:53 PM EST

MONTCALM COUNTY, Mich. (WOOD) — An infant who was found unresponsive in his parents’ bed Wednesday morning died of sudden infant death syndrome, according to Thursday autopsy results.

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The 3-week-old baby was sleeping with his parents in bed at the family’s Evergreen Township mobile home when he died, police said. The parents called 911 to report the unresponsive child.

The autopsy was done at Spectrum Health Blodgett Hospital.

The family’s name has not been released by authorities.