Slate of Programs Planned for SIDS Awareness Month

Newswise — New Brunswick, NJ—While it is not always known why a sudden infant death occurs, how to reduce the risk is well documented. In conjunction with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Awareness Month, the SIDS Center of New Jersey (SCNJ) at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is offering a series of educational webinars for clinicians, faculty and parents to raise awareness—and reduce mortality.  SCNJ’s research into risks and its provision of public health education advancing the safe infant sleep policies of the American Academy of Pediatrics contributed to New Jersey having one of the lowest rates of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) in the United States.

SIDS is a death in the first 12 months of life for which no cause has been found, even after a thorough evaluation. Despite declines in its rate, it still is one of the leading causes of infant mortality. Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) includes SIDS, as well as other sleep-related infant deaths, such as accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed. Roughly 3,600 cases of SUID occur in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with about 40 percent attributed to SIDS. 

“SIDS Awareness Month serves as a reminder that the American Academy of Pediatrics’ guidelines on safe infant sleep empower parents and other caregivers to reduce the risk of these sleep-related infant deaths,” said Barbara M. Ostfeld, PhD, program director of the SIDS Center of New Jersey at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and a professor in its Department of Pediatrics. “The SIDS Center of New Jersey and its partners provide risk-reduction education to medical, social service, and community programs and families throughout the year. We are grateful that in association with these efforts, New Jersey’s rate of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death remains one of the lowest in the United States.”

Webinar Wednesdays

To continue to foster awareness about SIDS risk reduction, the SIDS Center of New Jersey is sponsoring a month of programs to raise awareness about the risk factors, interventions and available resources. 

The following virtual programs are offered on Wednesdays at noon:

• Oct. 9: Vaping and SIDS: The Developing Story - Presenter: Barbara Ostfeld, MS, PhD, program director of SIDS Center of New Jersey. Learn how smoking during pregnancy or around an infant delivers nicotine, increasing the risk of SIDS. Since electronic cigarettes also deliver nicotine, the session also will explore what is currently known about the risks associated with vaping. Registration:https://rutgers.webex.com/weblink/register/r3f1208a649e6fa5e0d1fdef3a413ea34

• Oct. 16: A Guide to Safe Infant Sleep Education Resources & Tools for Providers & Parents - Host: Thomas Hegyi, MD, medical director, SCNJ; presenter: Ariana Nuñez-Restituyo, MPH, SCNJ. Guests: Onajovwe Fofah, MD, chair of Pediatrics, University Hospital; Ann Mruk, MSN, RN, IBCLC, director, professional development and education, Central Jersey Family Health Consortium; Bernadette Flynn-Kelton, BSN, RN, PCE, IBCLC, RLC, health educator, Penn Medicine; and Jacquelyn Boyett, Peer Support Specialist, Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care Maternal Wrap Around Program. Registration: https://rutgers.webex.com/weblink/register/rbce22bb1eeb7b41cd6ef686d7c90c4e5

• Oct. 23: Safe Infant Sleep from Birth to 12 Months - Presenter: Ariana Nuñez-Restituyo, MPH, health education and social media manager, SCNJ. Learn about SIDS, SUID and the latest safe sleep recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics to reduce the risk during the first year. The program will be presented in Spanish on Oct. 30 (see below). Registration: https://rutgers.webex.com/weblink/register/r670b9757ef8a7c9e4ab9ee275f8349d4

• Oct. 30: Sueño Seguro Desde el Nacimiento Hasta los 12 Meses - Presenter: Ariana Nuñez-Restituyo, MPH, health education and social media manager, SCNJ. Conozca qué son las muertes infantiles súbitas e inesperadas (SUID) y las últimas recomendaciones de sueño seguro de la AAP para reducir el riesgo durante su primer año. Registration:https://rutgers.webex.com/weblink/register/rccc8bdd45f37115753977d03976908bb

To further elevate awareness about sleep-related infant deaths, SCNJ worked with Gov. Phil Murphy’s office to officially recognize October throughout the state as SIDS Awareness Month via a Governor’s Proclamation. The SIDS Center also offers SIDS Info, its smartphone app, which is available for free on the Apple App Store or Google Play.

The SIDS Center operates under a grant from the New Jersey Department of Health to Rutgers University and is located at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and at Hackensack University Medical Center.

For more information about the SIDS Center of New Jersey, visit https://rwjms.rutgers.edu/department/pediatrics/sids-center.