SIDS and Safe Sleep *Giveaway*
February 5, 2010 by Caryn
This giveaway is now closed. Thanks for stopping by. The winner is Sarah G. Congrats!
As a NICU nurse, I educate parents regularly about how to ensure their babies are put down to sleep safely. As a mom to a six week old baby, SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) weighs on my mind. SIDS is still the leading cause of death for infants between one and twelve months of age in the US (over 2,000). And while many factors have been identified to contribute to SIDS, there is still no identifiable cause. The Journal of the American Medical Association recently published a study linking SIDS with low production of serotonin in the brainstem of infants. This study could allow physicians to identify babies at risk for SIDS since it’s presence was shown in 95% of all cases in this study.
One of the recommendations to prevent SIDS has been to avoid overheating infants. When my son was born, I purchased muslin cotton swaddle blankets from aden + anais. He was born in June, right at the beginning of our scorching Southern California summers and I wanted to be sure he didn’t get too hot. Our daughter was born in December, and I’ve been concerned about her being too cold. It’s a good reminder to me that she doesn’t need to be bundled as tightly as I think she does. And my husband is actually correct when he tells me not to put the heater on too high!
aden + anais is a proud sponsor of the CJ Foundation for SIDS and the company’s inspiration for designing a product that keeps babies warm in the winter months while still reducing the risk of overheating. The result is their new cozy sleeping bag, which consists of four layers of 100% breathable, muslin cotton. The cozy sleeping bag allows the baby’s body temperature to adjust naturally, thereby reducing the risk of overheating. The CJ Foundation for SIDS recommends the use of wearable blankets and sleep sacks in place of blankets to keep infants warm (and safe) while sleeping.
The CJ Foundation for SIDS recently launched its Sleep in Safety, Grow in Style (SSGS) campaign to help educate parents about the importance of designing safe sleeping environments for babies. aden + anais is working to help the CJ Foundation for SIDS inform parents of the many ways they can keep their baby safe. While over-heating is one risk-factor for SIDS, SSGS and aden + anais also advocate the following practices to reduce the risk of SIDS:
- Consider the use of fans to increases ventilation
- Room temperature should be comfortable for a lightly-clothed adult, approximately 61-67 degree Fahrenheit
- Cribs should be totally free of all loose blankets, stuffed animals and crib bumpers
- Lay baby to sleep in an improved crib, on a firm mattress; do not let the baby sleep on soft things, like a couch, pillow, sheepskin, foam pad or waterbed
- No smoking when pregnant or near baby
- If possible, breastfeed baby
- Offer a pacifier at bedtime
- Co-sleeping should be in the same room but not the same bed or other sleep surface as parents
aden + anais cozy sleeping bag are available on their site and come in eight adorable prints.
Win It! One of you will win a cozy sleeping bag of your choice. Simply leave me a comment with which one you’d choose and something you learned about SIDS from either this post or the site. Comments will close on February 20, 2010 at 11:59 PM PST. One comment per person, please (unless you do the extra credit). US residents only. Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement on the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn.
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I received a product, courtesy of the company to facilitate this review.
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I like the jungle jam sleeping bag.
and to Lay baby to sleep in an improved crib, on a firm mattress; do not let the baby sleep
on soft things
http://twitter.com/1amypugmire/status/8726819106
Always lay baby faceup
Baby should sleep on a firm mattress
lkish77123 at gmail dot com
lkish77123 at gmail dot com
I would pick the alpha bit letters sleep sack
i’d pick the mod about baby – frog cozy sleeping bag.
autumn398 @ yahoo.com
I would choose mod about baby – frogs.
nannypanpan@sbcglobal.net
nannypanpan@sbcglobal.net
mogrill@comcast.net
i like the mod about baby frog pattern
messymay AT gmail DOT com
I learned that swaddling helps promote longer REM hours for babies.
sarahcoulsey03 at gmail dot com
sarahcoulsey03 at gmail dot com
If I won, I would pick the Frog sleeping bag, since I’d give this to my sister-in-law who is expecting her first child and she doesnt know what she’s having yet
starlitefury(at)hotmail(dot)com
That being said (and I promise it’s genuine), I dig the star brights – blue dots cozy sleeping bag. In addition, I was unaware that breast feeding reduces the likelihood of SIDS and can pass that information on to my clients.
i like the mod about baby in frog
Thank you, I’d love one of these. The frog pattern is so darling!
Thank you
I learned SIDS deaths occur unexpectedly and quickly to apparently healthy infants, usually during periods of sleep.
Thanks
monkey ty.
http://twitter.com/_HeatherAnne_/status/9419402733
mightynaynay(at)cs.com