(Press-News.org) COLUMBIA, Mo. – Since 1992, the government's Back-to-Sleep Campaign has encouraged parents to place infants on their backs to sleep. Still, more than 4,500 infants die unexpectedly during sleep each year in the United States. Now, a University of Missouri injury prevention researcher says that safe, separate sleep environments for infants are critical to preventing sudden unexpected infant deaths (SUIDs).
"Many of these SUIDs are due to unsafe sleep environments, and these deaths are totally preventable," said Patricia Schnitzer, an associate professor in the MU Sinclair School of Nursing. "The safest place for infants to sleep is on their backs in their own cribs without soft bedding."
Schnitzer and her colleagues reviewed infant death case reports listing the families' information and causes of death from the National Child Death Review Case Reporting System. The researchers identified risk factors for sleep-related SUIDs based on data from nine states, including California, Delaware, Hawaii, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas. Their study of more than 3,000 infant deaths found that 70 percent of SUID victims were on surfaces not suitable for infants, such as adult beds or couches, and 64 percent of the babies were sharing sleeping surfaces, often with adults.
Although many parents now recognize that infants should sleep on their backs, Schnitzer says the Back-to-Sleep message doesn't explain all of the possible dangers in sleep environments, such as sharing beds, sleeping on soft bedding or furniture, or sleeping near objects that could suffocate infants, including blankets, stuffed animals and crib bumpers.
"Many public health organizations and researchers have focused on safe sleep environments; now we need to understand if people aren't getting that message or if they're disregarding it," Schnitzer said. "Since the Back-to-Sleep Campaign began, deaths from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) have decreased, but infant sleep-related deaths resulting from suffocation dramatically have increased. Sharing beds with infants is more common now, so we want to help new parents understand the risks."
Additionally, although some people encourage sharing a bed with an infant to make breastfeeding easier, Schnitzer says this practice can be harmful to infants, who should be placed in their own sleeping environments after breastfeeding.
The study, "Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths: Sleep Environment and Circumstances," was published in the American Journal of Public Health and was funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau. Schnitzer's coauthors include Theresa Covington and Heather Dykstra from the National Center for Child Death Review at the Michigan Public Health Institute.
INFORMATION:
Safe sleep environments key to preventing many infant deaths, MU researcher says
2012-04-21
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Beyond the blue bins: New American Chemical Society video on recycling
2012-04-21
WASHINGTON, April 19, 2012 — Just in time for Sunday's celebration of Earth Day, the American Chemical Society (ACS) today released a video revealing the journey that recyclable materials take beyond those blue curbside bins. In the latest episode of ACS' award-winning Bytesize Science series, viewers take a tour of a typical recycling center to see how these facilities sort the mountains of recyclables they receive every day. The video is available at www.BytesizeScience.com.
It points out that the average American generates about 4.5 pounds of trash every day. That's ...
The solar cell that also shines: Luminescent 'LED-type' design breaks efficiency record
2012-04-21
WASHINGTON, April 19—To produce the maximum amount of energy, solar cells are designed to absorb as much light from the Sun as possible. Now researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, have suggested – and demonstrated – a counterintuitive concept: solar cells should be designed to be more like LEDs, able to emit light as well as absorb it. The Berkeley team will present its findings at the Conference on Lasers and Electro Optics (CLEO: 2012), to be held May 6-11 in San Jose, Calif.
"What we demonstrated is that the better a solar cell is at emitting photons, ...
Dentist in Lauderhill, FL Brings Awareness to Oral Cancer During the Month of April
2012-04-21
With an estimated 36, 540 people diagnosed with oral cancer in 2010, the Oral Cancer Foundation has made April oral cancer awareness month. Dr. Robert Getz, dentist in Lauderhill, FL, joins dentists from all over the country to bring further awareness to this life-threatening disease.
"Oral cancer screening is a routine part of a dental examination. Regular checkups, including an examination of the entire month, are essential in the early detection of cancerous and pre-cancerous conditions," stated Dr. Robert Getz, Lauderhill, FL dentist. "Even though ...
Georgia Tech researchers address bus bunching
2012-04-21
As any city dweller knows, buses are rarely on time. It's typical to wait a while, only to have several buses show up one after another – a phenomenon known as bus bunching.
Fortunately, researchers and students at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a possible solution for bus bunching that provides better service to riders, simplifies the job of drivers and reduces work for management.
Industrial & Systems Engineering Professor John Bartholdi and Georgia Tech alumnus Don Eisenstein (MS IE 1983, PhD IE 1992), a colleague from the University of Chicago, ...
Swallowing exercises can help patients with head and neck cancer
2012-04-21
Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers have found that targeted swallowing exercises can help alleviate swallowing dysfunction – a debilitating side effect in people undergoing chemoradiation therapy (CRT) for head and neck cancer. The study, published in the April issue of Archives of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, a JAMA Network publication, suggests that clinicians should consider giving all patients undergoing CRT an exercise regimen to improve their quality of life after treatment.
"This study provides clear evidence that aggressive swallowing therapy ...
Black women leaders approved for assertiveness in the workplace
2012-04-21
While white men are expected to be assertive and aggressive leaders, black men and white women are often penalized for that kind of behavior in the workplace. A new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, looks at another group: black women. They find that, rather than being viewed as a combination of black men and white women, black women also seem to be expected to act assertively.
"Traditionally, women have been assigned to a more subordinate role," said Robert W. Livingston of Northwestern University, who co-wrote ...
Will women use microbicides to protect themselves against HIV?
2012-04-21
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Are women willing to use a vaginal gel to protect themselves against HIV infection? Researchers at The Miriam Hospital say that is the million dollar question when it comes to developing products known as microbicides that can prevent the sexual transmission of HIV.
Now the findings of a new study known as Project LINK could offer critical insight on user experience with topical vaginal gels – information that could be used to develop microbicide products that optimize a woman's experience, ultimately leading to more consistent use.
Miriam researchers, ...
ORNL microscopy yields first proof of ferroelectricity in simplest amino acid
2012-04-21
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., April 19, 2012 —The boundary between electronics and biology is blurring with the first detection by researchers at Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory of ferroelectric properties in an amino acid called glycine.
A multi-institutional research team led by Andrei Kholkin of the University of Aveiro, Portugal, used a combination of experiments and modeling to identify and explain the presence of ferroelectricity, a property where materials switch their polarization when an electric field is applied, in the simplest known amino acid—glycine. ...
Dentist in Naples Maintains Continuing Education for Superior Dental Care
2012-04-21
In order to provide his patients with the best available dental care, Dr. Ali Etessam, dentist in Naples, maintains over 300 certificates in continuing dental education. He continues his dental education in areas such as implant surgery and prosthodontics; smile restoration and orthodontics, and dentofacial orthopedics - including Naples Invisalign and Inline certification.
Dr. Etessam's thirst for knowledge keeps him updated and thoroughly educated in many aspects of oral health care. His passion for knowledge in all aspects of dentistry also allows him the ability ...
State of Himalayan glaciers less alarming than feared
2012-04-21
Ever since the false prognoses of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Himalayan glaciers have been a focus of public and scientific debate. The gaps in our knowledge of glaciers in the Himalayan region have hindered accurate statements and prognoses. An international team of researchers headed by glaciologists from the University of Zurich and with the involvement of scientists from Geneva now outlines the current state of knowledge of glaciers in the Himalayas in a study published in Science. The scientists confirm that the shrinkage scenarios for ...