October 19, 2005 --Known as the father of the national “Back To Sleep” campaign for the prevention of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), Dr. John Kattwinkel, head of the neonatology division at the University of Virginia Children’s Hospital, will present new findings and policy changes to the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) position on SIDS. His presentation, “The Changing Concept of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: Diagnostic Coding Shifts, Controversies Regarding the Sleep Environment, and New Variables to Consider in Reducing Risk,” will be Monday, Oct. 10, at 10 a.m. EST at the AAP National Conference and Exhibition at the Washington Convention Center in Room 209B, in Washington, D.C.

“Factors such as babies sleeping in the same room as parents but not in the same bed and pacifier use carry new recommendations that parents and caregivers should understand,” Kattwinkel said. This updated information is based on new research, including a discovery made by a fellow UVa colleague.”

Dr. Fern Hauck, associate professor of family medicine at UVa Health Systemand lead researcher for an analysis on pacifier use, reviewed several studies that showed a decreased risk of SIDS with pacifier use, especially when given at bedtime. The results of these studies were analyzed to come up with an overall summary statistic for pacifier benefit. This summary statistic indicates that infants using a pacifier have almost a two thirds reduction in risk compared to infants who did not use a pacifier.

“We now recommend that parents and caregivers offer babies a pacifier for all sleep episodes, including daytime naps,” Hauck said. “It is a potential method to reduce the risk of SIDS among all populations of infants under one year of age, which is the peak age group for this occurrence.”

The national “Back to Sleep” campaign was launched in 1994 and ushered in a series of recommendations from the AAP, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and several other agencies. They included placing babies on their backs at bedtime, not smoking around babies and making sure babies sleep on firm mattresses without blankets and stuffed animals nearby. These methods have contributed to a decline in SIDS deaths. 

SIDS is the sudden and unexplained death of an otherwise apparently normal baby that usually occurs after a child has been put to sleep. Nearly 20,000 fewer infant deaths occurred over the 12 years since the Back to Sleep campaign was launched. According to Hauck, there was a slight increase in SIDS deaths in 2002, indicating that additional measures may be needed to take SIDS prevention a step further.

Information on the new policy also can be found at http://www.aap.org.