SIDS: What you need to know to prevent infant deaths

SALISBURY, Md.- October is SIDS awareness month. SIDS stand for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and it’s a leading cause of death in newborns. Officials say nearly 3,500 infants die unexpectedly each year in the United States while they’re sleeping time, mostly from SIDS. And while there is no sure way to prevent SIDS, health officials say there are ways you can help reduce the risks of it and other sleep-related causes of infant death.

“The safety part of it comes in to is making sure that babies are placed on their back, alone in that crib. That’s usually when it happens when they’re in their cribs sleeping, when they’re put down for naps even during the day we’ve seen that occur too so anytime the baby is asleep in the crib they need to be in the safest environment,” said Marianne Harvey, a registered nurse at Peninsula Regional Medical Center.

PRMC will also be holding a Walk for Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day this Sunday on October 14th to remember those who’ve lost a child from 4 PM to 6 PM.