SIDS: New Zealand: Coroner urges parents to put babies in safe sleeping position

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 8:35p.m.

The tragic death of a three-month-old baby is yet another example of the dangers of putting a baby to sleep on its stomach, Wellington's coroner says.
Ian Smith released his findings today into the death of Hamiora James Te Aramakutu, who died at his Upper Hutt home last July 17.
Mr Smith said the baby had died suddenly and unexpectedly in an unsafe sleeping environment. He said the cause of death was undetermined but he could not rule out the possibility of accidental asphyxia.
The coroner cited police evidence which said the baby was always placed on his stomach when he was put to bed.
A pathologist had concluded the baby died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome after sleeping in the prone position - on his stomach - in his cot.
Mr Smith said wanted to reiterate the 2008 findings of Coroner Garry Evans, who reviewed expert evidence in the sudden deaths of seven infants.
Mr Evans had called on the Ministry of Health to strengthen guidelines on safe sleeping practices for newborn babies after his investigation.
He found four of the babies died of accidental asphyxia while the other three died suddenly and unexpectedly of undetermined causes.
In four cases the babies died while sharing a bed with one or more parent.
Mr Evans said then the Coroner's Court was concerned and saddened by each case but the findings and recommendations could prevent further deaths.
Mr Smith said he echoed Mr Evans' findings and urged parents to place their baby in a safe sleeping position in a smoke-free environment.
Current ministry safe sleeping guidelines advise parents and caregivers to sleep babies on their backs in a cot or bassinet.
http://www.3news.co.nz/Coroner-urges-parents-to-put-babies-in-safe-sleeping-position/tabid/423/articleID/201267/Default.aspx

SIDS: Seek doctor’s advice on best baby sleeping position

Diana Nabiruma
01 September 2010
It is a commonly held belief in this country that the safest sleeping position for babies is laying the baby on its stomach while positioning the head on the side. This way, when the baby regurgitates, as babies are wont to do, it is believed that it will not choke. “This is a safe sleeping position,” Dr. John Mary Sseremba of Luwum Street Clinic agrees. However, websites like www.righthealth.com, www.netdoctor.co.uk and www. safekids.co.uk/Safesleepingfor babies point to research that has been done showing that a baby sleeping on its stomach is unsafe. According to these websites, research shows that when a healthy baby is put to sleep on their stomach, the baby is put at a risk of suffering from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or cot death.Putting a baby to sleep on their stomach is considered dangerous because it results in the baby breathing the same air since they are too close to the beddings as opposed to being out in the open air. This implies that they do not get enough oxygen, which could cause death. If the baby sleeps on a mattress that is too soft and yielding, it is put at a risk of suffocating.There is also the possibility that the microbes on the mattress could interfere with the baby’s breathing if it sleeps on its stomach.As a result, health experts advise that healthy babies sleep on their backs. Fears of the baby chocking on vomit or regurgitated food are allayed by the experts when they point out that a baby can turn its head when it vomits so that it does not choke.A Ugandan mother will perhaps point out that when the baby sleeps on its stomach with the head on the side, then they are not too near the beddings and thus the baby is not at a risk of either suffocation or having their breath interrupted by as many microbes as would have been the case if the baby slept with their face pressing against the mattress. Sleeping positions for babies is a contentious matter but as some websites pointed out, cot deaths in some countries have been reduced through putting babies to sleep on their backs.Dr. Sseremba cites another safe sleeping position: putting the baby to sleep on its side with one arm under. It should be noted that the research that advised that it was best for the babies to sleep on their backs point out that when a baby is sick, it is best to ask a doctor for the best sleeping position for this baby.Whichever sleeping position you decide for your baby, these are some of the things that should be done so to ensure safe sleeping. The mattress should be firm; no toys should be placed in the bed, the mattress should not be covered with loose plastic sheets as these can cause suffocation, the baby’s covers, preferably bed sheets and a blanket as opposed to a duvet, are brought only halfway up to the cot, the baby’s head is left uncovered; as it sleeps it uses the head to regulate temperature and no adult pillows should be used in the cot.
http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9913:seek-doctors-advice-on-best-baby-sleeping-position-&catid=58:health-living&Itemid=89

SIDS: Fort Wayne day care sued in baby's death

By Aaron Organ
Lawsuit says caregivers put infant in “unsafe sleeping condition.”
A local couple has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the operators of a day care that they claim put the couple's 3-month-old son to sleep in a bed with several pillows before the child was found dead in October.The suit, filed Friday in Allen Superior Court by Dennis and Megan Oakley, alleges the negligence of Cindi Elsea and Jessica Thatcher contributed to the Oct. 20 death of Viktor Oakley. According to the suit, the pair run an advertised, reportedly certified day care out of Elsea's home.The Oakleys began sending Viktor and their 1-year-old son Lars to the facility, which they found on CraigsList.org, in September, the suit says.Neither Elsea nor Thatcher was available for comment.On Oct. 20, the suit says that Elsea put Viktor to sleep, on his stomach, on a bed surrounded by pillows, and left the infant unsupervised. Sometime later, the child was found unresponsive, not breathing and with no heartbeat, the suit says.Viktor was pronounced dead at Parkview North Hospital. An autopsy noted the boy was subjected to an “unsafe sleeping condition,” the suit says.Because Viktor was left on his stomach, near pillows, the suit alleges he was at risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and therefore the day care operators are liable for his death. The suit says Elsea's actions were “reckless and negligent,” and that Thatcher failed to properly care for, oversee and supervise the infant.The suit asks for damages to compensate for the loss of Viktor, for counseling to cope with that loss, as well as for medical, funeral and burial expenses.
http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100828/NEWS/8280326