This episode is designed to give students an approach to sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS. SIDS is the leading cause of post-neonatal infant death. Learn about the incidence, risk factors, as well as prevention of this complex multifactorial disorder. This podcast was develop by Ashlee Yang, a medical student at the University of Alberta with the help of Dr. Melanie Lewis, a general pediatrician and Professor at the University of Alberta and Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Dr Lewis:
How do we prevent SIDS and counsel parents?
Currently, no effective way exists to screen in early infancy for intrinsic or genetic abnormalities that increase the risk for SIDS. However, there are strategies to reduce the risk of SIDS, such
as receiving regular prenatal care and creating a safe sleep and home environment.Here is some advice you can provide to parents:
1. Seek prenatal care early and follow up regularly.
2. Stop or reduce smoking during pregnancy. After the baby is born, avoid smoking inside the house and around the baby.
3. Breastfeeding is encouraged as it reduces risk for SIDS and has other health benefits.
4. “Back to sleep, front to play” is an important phrase to remember– place the baby on his or her back when sleeping or napping, not on their front or side. Supervised “tummy time” or playtime in prone position while awake is good. 5. For babies under 6 months of age, room sharing is encouraged but bed sharing should be avoided. Babies should sleep in their own crib, preferably in the same room as parents. Do not place the baby in a bed, sofa or chair with other children.
6. Use a flat, firm surface for sleep. Babies can turn onto their stomach or side and bury their face in these soft materials, causing them to suffocate. Pillows, air mattresses, couches/sofas or soft materials are not safe sleep surfaces.
7. Playpens and car seats are not safe alternatives to a crib for supervised sleep.
8. Keep loose or soft bedding materials such as stuffed animals, comforters, pillows, bumper pads etc. out of the sleep environment.
9. Avoid overheating and over bundling…Dress the baby lightly and set the room at a comfortable temperature. If swaddling, make sure the airway is clear and there is
enough room for legs to move.Related Content:
Follow Tom On:
Categories
-
Recent Posts
- Linking To And Excerpting From “Canadian Airway Focus Group updated consensus-based recommendations for management of the difficult airway: part 1. Difficult airway management encountered in an unconscious patient” With Additional Links
- Linking To And Embedding AIME Airway’s “EM Airway Guidelines WCA” (World Congress Of Anesthesiologists)
- Link To, And Excerpts From (Preprint-not peer-reviewed) “Transcobalamin Receptor Autoantibodies in Central Vitamin B12 Deficiency”
- Link To Neurology Podcast “Transcobalamin receptor Antibodies in Autoimmune Vitamin B12 Central Deficiency” With Links To The Article
- Linking To, Embedding, And Excerpting From “Peri-Intubation Oxygenation AIME”
- Links To And Excerpts From “Urinary tract infections in infants and children: Diagnosis and management”
- Link To And Excerpts From EM Resident’s “Post-Intubation Sedation in the ED: The Basics”
- Best: Links To And Excerpts From The Canadian Paediatric Society’s 2024 “Management of well-appearing febrile young infants aged ≤90 days”
- Excerpting From MetroHealth Emergency Ultrasound’s “Procedural Ultrasound”: Thoracentesis, Pericardiocentesis, And Paracentsis With A Link To The 2021 Intern Ultrasound Course
- The Best Teaching Video of “Cricothyrotomy – Scalpel-Bougie-Tube technique” With Links To Additional Resources
- Links To And Excerpts From Emergency Medicine Cases’ “Ep 173 Febrile Infant – Risk Stratification and Workup”
- Links To And Excerpts From Emergency Medicine Cases’ “Ep 196 Pediatric Meningitis Recognition, Workup and Management”
- Senator Sanders is right. We need To re-elect President Biden-NY Times Opinion Piece
- Long Covid: Diagnosing And Treating A Still Not Well-Defined Syndrome From Microbe TV With Links To Additional Resources
- Link To And Excerpts From MetroHealth’s “Soft Tissue Ultrasound” With Links To Additional Resources
- Links To And Excerpts From “Diagnosis, Workup, Risk Reduction of Transient Ischemic Attack in the Emergency Department Setting: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association”
- Links To And Excerpts From “2021 Guideline for the Prevention of Stroke in Patients With Stroke and Transient Ischemic Attack: A Guideline From the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association”
- Link To And Excerpt From The Cribsiders’ “#110: Don’t Sugarcoat It – Pediatric Type 2 Diabetes”
- Link To And Excerpts From “SMART Goals: A How to Guide” From The University Of California
- Resources On Auto Air Conditioning Repair
- Link To And Excerpts From “ePLAR echocardiographic Pulmonary to Left Atrial Ratio Echo Hawaii 2020”
- Link To And Excerpts From StatPearls’ “Pulmonary Hypertension”
- Links To And Excerpts From “Bedside assessment of left atrial pressure in critical care: a multifaceted gem”
- Links To The YouTube Video “Jugular Venous Pressure (JVP) Exam using Point-of-care Ultrasound (POCUS)” With Links To Additional Resource
- Links To And Excerpts From “2019 ACC Expert Consensus Decision Pathway on Risk Assessment, Management, and Clinical Trajectory of Patients Hospitalized With Heart Failure: A Report of the American College of Cardiology Solution Set Oversight Committee”
- Links To And Excerpts From “2024 ACC Expert Consensus Decision Pathway for Treatment of Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction: A Report of the American College of Cardiology Solution Set Oversight Committee”
- Links To And Excerpts From “2023 ACC Expert Consensus Decision Pathway on Management of Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction: A Report of the American College of Cardiology Solution Set Oversight Committee”
- Links To And Excerpts From “Key concepts in clinical epidemiology: Estimating pre-test probability”
- Links To And Excerpts From “Accuracy of Diagnostic Tests”
- Links To And Excerpts From “Revised criteria for diagnosis and staging of Alzheimer’s disease: Alzheimer’s Association Workgroup”