By Samantha Bolden | The Selma Times-Journal

Losing a child is a nightmare for any parent, especially an infant.

One of the most common infant deaths is Safe Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), and The Selma Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi wants to bring awareness to this ongoing issue.

The organization is partnering with the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) on Thursday, June 30 to sponsor a Safe Infant Sleep Presentation from 10. to 11 a.m. at the Dallas County Health Department on Samuel O. Moseley Drive.

“We want to make the public aware of this concern, so they’d know what to do in cases like this,” said Project Coordinator and Kappa Alpha Psi member Larry Vasser.

According to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, thousands of babies die unexpectedly in the United States each year.

African American babies are most likely to die from SIDS, based on their numbers within the U.S. population, than Hispanic, Asian or white babies.

According to a recent study published in the journal Pediatrics, swaddling and placing babies on their stomachs may have increased risk dying from the syndrome.

Researchers found that babies were twice as likely to die from SIDS if they were laid on their stomachs or sides.

There has been a significant amount of progress since 1994 — when SIDS deaths were reported at an all time high with 4,073 babies dying and only 27 percent slept on their backs —however 2,226 babies died of the syndrome in 2009 and 74 percent slept on their backs according to the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Many parents believe that if they lay their infants on their back it could cause choking, but that isn’t the case.

Healthy babies naturally swallow or cough up fluids — it’s a reflex all people have.

Some of the ways to reduce the risk of SIDS are as follows:

 

4Always place the baby on his or her back to sleep.

4Use a firm sleep surface, such as a mattress in a safety-approved crib covered by a fitted sheet

4Room sharing

4Keep soft objects, toys, crib bumpers, and loose bedding out of the baby’s sleep area

4Do not smoke while pregnant, and do not smoke around the baby

4Breastfeed

 

“If we can save one life, then it would all be worth it,” Vasser said.

For more information on SIDS, visit www.safetosleep.nichd.nih.gov.