October is Also SIDS Awareness Month

The Anne Arundel County Department of Health is offering free pregnancy and healthy baby kits, including SIDS prevention tips for parents and caregivers. Much has been written about October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month. But the month is shared with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Awareness Month. Health care authorities want to educate parents, caregivers and family members about the risk factors associated with SIDS.

According to a release from the health department, SIDS is the third leading cause of death in babies less than one-year-old. Between 2006 and 2010, 25 babies died from SIDS in Anne Arundel County.

Jinlene Chan, M.D., M.P.H., Deputy Health Officer for Healthy Families with the Department of Health and Chairperson of the County’s Fetal and Infant Mortality Review Team, explains, “We’ve seen that many of these tragic deaths have risks in common, like stomach sleeping, bed sharing and exposure to secondhand smoke.”

An Anne Arundel County survey revealed that many residents are unaware of safe sleep practices for babies.

More than one-third of residents surveyed were unaware that babies should always be placed on their backs to sleep.

According to Dr. Chan, “As a community, we need to get the urgent message out to all parents, grandparents and caregivers that babies need to be put on their backs to sleep and by themselves, in their own crib.”

The Anne Arundel County Department of Health offers the following tips for safe sleep for babies:

• Always put a baby to sleep on his or her back, alone and in a safe crib.

• Use a firm mattress that fits tightly into the crib frame and is covered by a well-fitting sheet.

• A 12-ounce soda can should not fit between the crib rails.

• Loose bedding and soft toys should not be in the crib.

• Bumpers are not needed.

• Don’t smoke during pregnancy and don’t let people smoke around babies.

To order free Healthy Pregnancy and Baby Care Kits, or for more information on having a healthy pregnancy and baby, Anne Arundel County residents can visit www.aahealthybabies.org or call 410-222-7223.