Letter - Information is available to protect against sudden infant death syndrome

To the editor:

Each year in the United States, more than 4,500 infants die suddenly from no obvious cause. Twenty percent of the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) related deaths in Minnesota occur in a daycare setting. SIDS deaths occur in infants younger than 1 year of age and are unexplained. SIDS is the leading cause of death among infants ages 0 to 12 months.

Thanks to the Back-to-Sleep campaign, started in 1994, SIDS deaths have decreased overall by 50 percent. The Back-to-Sleep campaign has raised awareness with caregivers and parents, so we also want to inform them about the practices and procedures to be followed when putting an infant to sleep.

The following should be followed: Always place the infant on their back to sleep; use firm mattresses in the infant’s crib; avoid placing loose articles in the crib; if possible, have a noise machine on in the infant’s room to prevent them from entering a deep sleep; do not swaddle the infant; make sure the baby is placed in a cool environment to prevent overheating; and have the infant sleep alone in their own crib, not on a bed with an adult.

In 2011, 51 children died in a daycare setting, so we want to share this information on SIDS to protect children and inform people about the simple ways to prevent sudden infant death syndrome.

Katie Hutt and Emma Fischer,

ATCC child development

program students

Alexandria, MN

Tags: opinion, letters