Newborn at Blank Children's Hospital in Des Moines swaddled in a "sleep sack."Photo: Mark Tauscheck, Unity Point-Health Des Moines
(Des Moines, IA) -- The Iowa SIDS Foundation is reporting a significant increase in the number of referrals in the past year, from families grieving the death of an infant. Executive Director Casey Manser says bereavement counseling is part of their mission, along with education and outreach. She says most of the infant deaths are preventable, and can often be traced back to an unsafe sleeping environment.
Manser took part in a news conference today (Wednesday) at Blank Children's Hospital, with State Medical Director Robert Kruse and pediatricians from Blank and MercyOne in Des Moines.
"Over the last three years, we've actually experienced a 70% increase in these grief referrals," said Manser. She says in the last year alone, they've had more than 30 referrals from 18 Iowa counties.
Manser says the cause for SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) cases remains a mystery, but the more common infant deaths are categorized as Sudden Unexpected Deaths, which can result from suffocation or strangulation in bed and those deaths are preventable.
Prevention was the message at today's news conference from Dr. Amy Ferguson, Blank Children's Hospital Nursery Director.
"I think we've seen a lot of babies in unsafe sleep environments, so that's led the charge for us to promote more education and try to reach families and make sure they know the simple things to prevent sleep-related deaths," said Dr. Ferguson.
Dr. Chloe Butler, MercyOne, Children's Hospital, is the Medical Director of inpatient pediatrics and the newborn nursery at MercyOne Des Moines. She stresses a simple message when it comes to keeping baby safe "ABC."
(The) "ABCs of safe sleep are Alone, on the Back, in a Crib, that's important because it creates the safest environment for a baby to sleep in. Nothing over baby's face, no suffocation risk, babies need their own safe space to sleep," said Dr. Butler. She says co-sleeping, when an infant shares the same bed as a parent, is dangerous. She says sharing a room is encouraged, but baby needs his or own safe space to sleep. She also babies who have fall asleep in a car seat should be taken out of the car seat and placed on their back in a crib at home. She says the concern there is the angle of the car-seat, which could enable baby's head to roll forward and obstruct their airway.
The pediatricians also recommend parents use caution when it comes to technology, advertised as helping baby get to sleep. The physicians say sometimes the tech doesn't really do that much and may cause harm by giving parents a false sense of security. They also highly recommend using "sleep sacks."
Dr. Audrey Bush, Medical director of Blank's inpatient patent pediatric unit. Dr. Bush is also the medical advisor for Iowa SIDS Foundation Board.
"We know babies can be calmed by swaddling, but traditional blankets can be thick and increase the suffocation risk, so we recommend a swaddle sack or sleep sack, and then placing baby on their back," said Dr. Audrey Bush, Blank Children's Hospital.
State Medical Director Dr. Robert Kruse says since 2020 Iowa has lost 988 children under the age of 18 and 144 of those were due to sudden, unexpected death or unsafe sleep practices. He says the state of Iowa has a working group with the SIDS Foundation and other partners to develop consistent messaging. He says there are also plans to hire a state sleep coordinator within the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services to coordinate a comprehensive strategy.
Photo: Sue Danielson