SIDS Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
In most situations a parent goes to check on their supposedly sleeping infant to find him or her dead. This a worse tragedy then parents can face leaving them with extreme sadness and since medicine cannot explain why this happened they often blame themselves, God or someone else. Their lives and those around them are changed forever.
Since 1983, the rate of SIDS has fallen by over 50 percent. Sadly, there are still about 2,500 deaths per year in the United States and thousands more throughout the world. However, there are things that can be done to reduce the risk of SIDS.
Do not smoke, use cocaine, or use heroin. Tobacco, cocaine, or heroin use during pregnancy increases the infant’s risk for SIDS. Wait at least one year between the birth of a child and the next pregnancy. The shorter the time between pregnancies the higher the SIDS rate becomes. Place infants to sleep on their backs, even though infants may sleep more soundly on their stomachs. Infants who sleep on their stomachs and sides have a higher rate of SIDS than infants who sleep on their backs. Place infants to sleep in a baby bed with a firm mattress. There should be nothing in the bed but the baby – no covering, no pillows, no bumper pads and no toys. Soft mattresses and heavy covering are associated with the risk for SIDS. Avoid exposing the infant to tobacco smoke. Don’t have your infant in the same house or car with someone who is smoking. The greater the exposure to tobacco smoke, the greater the risk of SIDS. Consider using home monitoring systems (apnea/bradycardia monitors) in an attempt to prevent sudden death in high-risk infants.
The risk of SIDS in the following groups exceeds that of the general population by as much as 5 to 10 times: Infants born weighing less than 3.5 pounds, Infants whose sibling died of SIDS, Infants exposed to cocaine, heroin, or methadone during the pregnancy, The second or succeeding child born to a teenage mother and Infants who have had an apparent life-threatening event.
But no matter what you do nothing can guarentee your baby will not die from SIDS. Some people think that if you do one thing or another such as breastfeeding, co-sleeping, or laying baby on its back, etc, you can prevent SIDS. While doing these things may lessen the odds of SIDS, there are SIDS victims who were exclusively breastfed, and slept placed on their back or side with their parents. There is no known factor which will prevent SIDS.
A baby’s death is not considered a case of SIDS when a specific cause is discovered, such as carbon monoxide poisoning. By definition, SIDS is considered the cause of a baby’s death only when it remains unexplained, even after a thorough investigation. SIDS is also known as crib death, cot death, or sudden infant death, unexplained.
Most people are uncomfortable with death, especially when it deals with an infant. Many people say stupid things to parents like ‘You can always have another’, ‘It was the will of God’, or something else that does not help theparent. Just say you’re sorry for their loss,and if you want to do more ASK what you can do.If you can help with funeral arangements, returning clothes, driving to support meetings, and just handing over wads of tissue as needed,
you are helping. If you can’t help, keep in touch but don’t stick around. Time takes the edge of the frequency of the pain away but the death of the child will always be a raw nerve. It does help to ask questions like ‘what type of baby was he?’ or ‘can you show me some pictures of her?’. The SIDS parent is often in a haze after the death, but they do remember the little things. I’ve heard it said When you lose a parent, you lose your past. When you lose a spouse, you lose your present. When you lose a child, you lose your future.
Grief is an intense, lonely, and personal experience. The death of an elderly loved one is mourned, but is usually expected. The death of a child, however, especially the death of an apparently healthy child, is an unexpected event. When a child dies not only does the death destroy the dreams and the hopes of the parents, but it also forces all family members to face an event for which they are unprepared. Most parents who experience the death of a child describe the pain that follows as the most intense they have ever experienced. Many parents wonder if they will be able to tolerate the pain, to survive it, and to be able to feel that life has meaning again.
Parents go through many differnt feelings such as Guilt Parents may blame themselves for something they did in the present or the past, or for something they neglected to do. Also, each parent might blame the other. If only becomes a familiar phrase. Parents can feel angry at themselves, their spouse, the physician, or the child for having died. Religious beliefs may be questioned and parents may find themselves angry at a God who allows children to die. Anger that is left unreleased may be suppressed and may manifest itself at an inappropriate time or place or in an inappropriate manner. Anger can be expressed healthily and worked through in a number of ways: screaming in private, hitting something, or strenuous exercise. Fear After the death of their child many parents experience an overall sense of fear that something else horrible is going to happen. Often parents with older children become extremely overprotective of them. It’s a long slow process that may take years, but resolution and recovery will come.
Everyone who has lost a baby due to SIDS needs a outlet someone to talk to or just a place to let your feelings out. I have found a terrific website you can write letters to your baby, read or submit poetry, have a bear made from a few of baby’s clothes or a blanket. This site has so many things to explore and ways to comfort parents so please visit it. It may in some little way brighten your day for at least a little while. So please visit the site listed on this page.
