The SIDS Program aims to reduce the number of infants who die from Sudden Infant Death (SID) and Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) in the county through a variety of ways, which include outreach to the community to increase public awareness and knowledge of SIDS and promote SIDS risk reduction practices.  Activities include offering educational training for health care professionals and para-professionals who work with families and infants.  Program objectives include engaging in family-centered conversations to reduce risk of all sleep-related deaths. The 2022 Recommendations for Reducing Infant Death in the Sleep Environment by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) are supported and can be found here. 

October is SIDS Awareness Month.  There are about 3,400 sleep-related deaths among US babies each year.  In Madera County, when an infant has died suddenly and unexpectedly during their sleep, this is a presumed SIDS case, and the local SIDS program coordinator, who is a public health nurse (PHN), will be contacted by a deputy coroner for care coordination.  The PHN will contact the parents and/or other caregivers to offer crisis intervention, offer grief support information, and provide referral to local bereavement support services.  

Reference:  Moon RY, Carlin RF, Hand I; AAP Task Force on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome; AAP Committee on Fetus and Newborn.  Sleep-Related Infant Deaths: Updated 2022 Recommendations for Reducing Infant Deaths in the Sleep Environment. Pediatrics. 2022; 150 (1): e2022057990