VOLUME 128 | ISSUE 37
WEEK OF NOVEMBER 9, 2023
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A mother holds her baby’s head.
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Experts provide tips to keep sleeping babies safe BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
When the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that babies be placed on their back to sleep in the 1990s, the number of sleep-related infant deaths declined for a period of time but have plateaued since then. Today, unsafe infant sleep is the leading cause of preventable death for children under the age of 1 in Colorado and nationally. Within a five year span (2017 to 2021) in Colorado, 241 babies passed away from Sudden Unexpected Infant Death, said Amanda Abramczyk-Thill, an injury prevention and outreach specialist for Children’s Hospital Colorado. Sudden Unexpected Infant Death includes Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, otherwise known as SIDS, which is
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the sudden and unexplained death of an infant younger than 1 year old. Accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed, ill-defined deaths and undetermined causes also fall under the umbrella of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death. Over half of the deaths within the five year period involved an asphyxiation risk, an adult or another individual rolled on top of the baby while sleeping or the baby was wedged between two objects, said Abramczyk-Thill. With no guaranteed way to prevent SIDS, a safe sleep environment will help lower the risk of all sleep-related infant deaths. What research shows
In the United States, nearly 3,500 infants die each year SEE SLEEP STUDY, P2
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