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News — New Brunswick, NJ -- The SIDS Center of New Jersey is providing community programs on how to reduce the risk of sudden unexplained infant deaths during SIDS Awareness Month in October. Live and on-demand webinars in English and Spanish are available on its page, and caregivers may apply for a free newborn baby onesie with safe infant sleep messaging, while supplies last. To learn more, email: [email protected].  

SIDS is one of the leading causes of death in the United States of children under age 1. Although, by definition, the causes of SIDS remain unknown, the behaviors and social and health determinants that elevate the risk of these deaths are known and can be addressed. A decline in risk factors such as unsafe infant sleep practices, exposure to nicotine, and challenges in accessing prenatal care, contributes to a decline in Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) which comprises SIDS and other sleep-related infant deaths. 

The SIDS Center of New Jersey studies and promotes risk-reduction practices and also provides bereavement support to families whose infants have died suddenly and unexpectedly. Its research has contributed to the guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics for reducing these deaths, which have been newly updated. 

“Knowledge is empowering, and we urge families to visit our website, , to download SIDS Info, our free mobile phone app, and other resources,” says Barbara M. Ostfeld, PhD, program director of the SIDS Center of New Jersey and a professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. "The app is available in English and Spanish with voiceovers as well as graphics and text. Updates will appear in the coming weeks on both the Apple and Google app stores."

In association with the SIDS Center of New Jersey's public health education initiatives on risk reduction and its collaboration with New Jersey health and social service programs, New Jersey's rates of SUID have been among the lowest in the United States. In 2019, the most recently available finalized data in the New Jersey State Health Assessment Data Resource, New Jersey's SUID rate of 0.5 per 1000 live births was nearly half that of the U.S. rate of 0.9 reported in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s CDC WONDER database. 

"Whether you are a caregiver, parent, or grandparent, SIDS Awareness Month is a time to refresh your knowledge of safe infant sleep practices and other risk-reducing guidelines," says Thomas Hegyi, MD, medical director of the SIDS Center, professor of pediatrics, and director of the Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. "Health care providers also should review how well they are educating families about risk-reducing practices. Doing it well does not mean that it can't be done even better.”

The SIDS Center is funded by a grant from the New Jersey Department of Health to Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and based at the medical school and the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital at Hackensack Meridian Health. 

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EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional information about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and other sleep-related infant deaths, contact Thomas Hegyi, MD, medical director of the SIDS Center of New Jersey, professor of pediatrics and program director, Division of Neonatology, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at [email protected].