FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Tracie West
(334) 206-5044
The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) urges parents and caregivers to learn about the risk factors that lead to the sudden deaths of infants, especially during October, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and Safe Sleep Awareness Month.
Every year in the United States, more than 3,500 otherwise healthy babies die suddenly and unexpectedly. The causes of these infant deaths are not immediately obvious following a complete investigation. Most of these infant deaths are full-term normal birth weight infants, according to the ADPH Center for Health Statistics. In 2018, 70 Alabama infants died from Sudden Unexplained Infant Death (SUID).
In 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded more than 1,400 infant deaths from SIDS, the leading cause of death for babies 1 month to 1 year of age. The National Center for Health Statistics estimates that 50 to 60 percent of SIDS and SUID cases are from co-sleeping, unsafe sleeping, or accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed.
Parents and caregivers are reminded to follow key steps to reduce infant deaths from unsafe sleep-related causes. The ABCs to remember are as follows:
ADPH is the lead agency promoting the National Institutes of Health’s #SafeSleepSnap Photo Event for SIDS Awareness Month in October. This event is to help promote SIDS Awareness Month and promote safe sleep practices and safe sleep environments for infants. Parents are encouraged to post pictures of their babies sleeping on their backs in safe sleep environment on their social media accounts with #SafeSleepSnap.
County health departments throughout Alabama provide a wide range of confidential and professional services. Contact your local county health department for additional information.
Mission: To promote, protect, and improve Alabama’s health
Vision: Healthy People. Healthy Communities. Healthy Alabama.
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10/01/2020