Objective
Bed sharing has been associated with sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and may contribute to the racial disparity seen in infant mortality. It is unclear how bed sharing interacts with other factors to impact SIDS risk. We aimed to measure the effects of bed sharing on risk of SIDS in blacks and to determine whether the risk is modified by other characteristics of the sleep environment.
Methods
Characteristics of 195 black infants who died of SIDS were compared with matched controls. The moderating influence of known SIDS risk factors on the effect of bed sharing on risk of SIDS was examined using logistic regression.
Results
Almost half (47.4%) of the study population bed shared during the last/reference sleep (58% cases and 37% controls). Bed sharing was associated with 2 times greater risk of SIDS compared with not bed sharing. The deleterious effect of bed sharing was more pronounced with a soft sleep surface, pillow use, maternal smoking, and younger infant age. However, bed sharing was still associated with an increased risk of SIDS, even when the infant was not using a pillow or sleeping on a firm surface. The strongest predictors of SIDS among bed-sharing infants were soft sleep surface, nonuse of a pacifier, and maternal smoking during pregnancy.
Conclusions
Bed sharing is a common practice among black infants. It is associated with a clear and strong increased risk of SIDS, which is even greater when combined with other known risk factors for SIDS. This practice likely contributes to the excess incidence of SIDS among blacks, and culturally competent education methods must be developed to target this high-risk group.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B94TX-51FPWXP-7&_user=10&_coverDate=12%2F31%2F2010&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_origin=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=163e6d677f1f9da57f4161d4c6b87aeb&searchtype=a
Showing posts with label Black Infant Health Program. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Black Infant Health Program. Show all posts
Thursday, 25 November 2010
Monday, 30 August 2010
SIDS: Black infants face triple death rate of others
August 19, 2010
Denise Dador
According to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, African-American infants in California are more than twice as likely to die during their first year of life compared to infants of other races.
A local organization is trying to change that and they're hoping to get dads more involved in the health of their babies.
A majority of African-American children are born out of wedlock and most are raised by single mothers. The Black Infant Health Program understands how absent fathers can affect the health of their children. So they've developed a strategy to help new dads.
All parents have stress, but in some communities the stress can be even greater. Many African-American families don't survive the added economic, social and emotional burdens. One local program recognizes this need and is reaching out to new moms.
At the Black Infant Health Program in Mission Hills, moms are connected with resources, but most of all they feel relief knowing they're not alone.
0 African-American babies in California are 2 to 3 times more likely to die of sudden infant death syndrome than babies of other races.
"Since 1850, the data of infant mortality in the black community has not reduced. It's alarming," said Yodit Abraha, Black Infant Health Program manager for the Mission City Community Network.
Experts believe the cause for the high rates of infant mortality in the black community may be many fold, from economic to social to possibly biological.
"The stressors that African-Americans walk with throughout a whole generation does impact physiological makeup. So it's a lot of stress hormones that are already high in the black community especially in the reproductive age of African-American woman," said Abraha.
The Black Infant Health Program helps families based on their needs. They offer infant care and other parent education seminars, as well as provide emotional and economic support.
"Love your children and love yourself because if you don't love yourself how are you going to love your child and take care of it, and get help. And it's OK to get help," she said.
Due to all the budget cuts, the state recently cut funding to the Black Infant Health Program. But they're staying afloat thanks to last minute help from the First Five Foundation. When that funding runs out, the organization will have to turn to private donors.
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/health/your_health&id=7619630
Denise Dador
According to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, African-American infants in California are more than twice as likely to die during their first year of life compared to infants of other races.
A local organization is trying to change that and they're hoping to get dads more involved in the health of their babies.
A majority of African-American children are born out of wedlock and most are raised by single mothers. The Black Infant Health Program understands how absent fathers can affect the health of their children. So they've developed a strategy to help new dads.
All parents have stress, but in some communities the stress can be even greater. Many African-American families don't survive the added economic, social and emotional burdens. One local program recognizes this need and is reaching out to new moms.
At the Black Infant Health Program in Mission Hills, moms are connected with resources, but most of all they feel relief knowing they're not alone.
0 African-American babies in California are 2 to 3 times more likely to die of sudden infant death syndrome than babies of other races.
"Since 1850, the data of infant mortality in the black community has not reduced. It's alarming," said Yodit Abraha, Black Infant Health Program manager for the Mission City Community Network.
Experts believe the cause for the high rates of infant mortality in the black community may be many fold, from economic to social to possibly biological.
"The stressors that African-Americans walk with throughout a whole generation does impact physiological makeup. So it's a lot of stress hormones that are already high in the black community especially in the reproductive age of African-American woman," said Abraha.
The Black Infant Health Program helps families based on their needs. They offer infant care and other parent education seminars, as well as provide emotional and economic support.
"Love your children and love yourself because if you don't love yourself how are you going to love your child and take care of it, and get help. And it's OK to get help," she said.
Due to all the budget cuts, the state recently cut funding to the Black Infant Health Program. But they're staying afloat thanks to last minute help from the First Five Foundation. When that funding runs out, the organization will have to turn to private donors.
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/health/your_health&id=7619630
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