Healthwatch: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
WEST JACKSON — Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, commonly known as SIDS, affects thousands of babies each year. After 12 weeks of maternity leave to take care of her newborn baby Grant, Sandy Alexander returned to work. On her second day back, she received a call, and her whole world was put on hold. “I got a call from my husband to get back to Jackson,” Sandy said. “He didn’t tell me what had happened, nobody wanted to tell me what had happened until I got here, but we lost him to SIDS. Looking back, there was a lot of risk factors that I missed just because I thought that it could never happen to me.” Through updated research, many hospitals now issue sleep sacks for babies and provide information on better techniques for positioning a baby for sleep time. “By getting the sleep sack and the information, the education and the nurses receive and pass onto the families,” Sandy said. “I think hearing it multiple times reinforces the message.” An advocate for the prevention of SIDS, Sandy Alexander, who is the mother to two, doesn’t want anyone to experience what she went through five years ago – that is her wish. “I want all babies to get to their first birthdays and beyond,” Sandy said. “Watching the other two grow up had been so bitter sweet because of all the milestones they hit, but it hurts. I don’t want any other moms to experience that hole in your heart for not having a baby here.” About 4,500 babies die unexpectedly each year in the US, often during sleep. If you have a newborn or are expecting soon, be sure to get as much information as possible from your doctor and make sure to ask about getting a sleep sack from your hospital.
