District Attorney Hosts Infant Safe Sleep Awareness Meeting
MELROSE - Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan has met with medical professionals and local elected leaders at a pediatric practice in Melrose as part of the 2015 Infant Safe Sleep Awareness Campaign.
On Friday, January 30, District Attorney Ryan met with Dr. Matthew Brewer, Mayor Robert Dolan, State Senator Jason Lewis, State Representative Paul Brodeur, and the staff of Fellsway Pediatrics, 548 Lebanon Street, Melrose. The meeting is the first of several dialogue sessions that District Attorney Ryan will be leading in the months ahead.
The sessions are meant to establish lines of communication among medical professionals, law enforcement officials, and policymakers in Middlesex County in an effort to reduce Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID), a medical term used to describe the explained or unexplained death of an infant. As part of this effort, District Attorney Ryan will provide pediatric offices in the county with educational resources for parents and encourage conversations to occur between pediatricians and parents about safe sleep practices throughout the baby’s first year of life.
“We look forward to partnering with professionals in doctors’ offices this year to help educate parents of newborns about the risk factors for sudden unexpected infant death,” said District Attorney Ryan. “The best way to raise awareness with the public is to learn from other experts, to collaborate across disciplines, and to be constant and consistent in our message. By bringing together key stakeholders, we are targeting this serious safety and health issue through a multi-faceted approach.”
"We applaud District Attorney Ryan for drawing attention to this critical issue,” said Dr. Matthew Brewer with Fellsway Pediatrics. “Safe sleep education is an important part of our practice. The parent resource materials given to us by the District Attorney will support our efforts in educating parents about the risk factors for SUID."
State Senator Jason Lewis commented, "The Safe Babies, Safe Kids Task Force has been doing great work in our communities, and I know that the 2015 Safe Sleep Awareness Campaign will help save more lives. I’m especially grateful to Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan for her longstanding leadership on prevention and wellness efforts."
State Representative Paul Brodeur added, “I commend District Attorney Ryan for bringing the Safe Sleep program to Melrose. Particularly in the winter, this initiative helps parents protect their infants from preventable deaths.”
“I very much appreciate District Attorney Ryan’s visit to Melrose to raise awareness about this important topic,” said Mayor Robert Dolan. “The District Attorney’s Safe Sleep campaign nicely complements our Birth to Five program, which supports Melrose families by linking them to community resources. We are happy to partner with District Attorney Ryan to offer educational resources to parents in our community on safe sleep practices.”
Educational materials for families will be available free to the public at two locations in Melrose, the Public Health Department at City Hall and at the Public Library.
The Middlesex District Attorney’s State Police CPAC Unit responds to and investigates all unattended deaths in Middlesex County, including those involving infants. Over the last five years, the Middlesex Child Fatality Review Team, led by District Attorney Ryan, has reviewed 19 cases of infant deaths that occurred while sleeping. SUID is the leading cause of deaths among babies in their first year of life. In 2010, more than 2,000 babies in the United States died of SUIDs. According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, it is the third leading cause of death statewide for children under the age of 12 months. In Massachusetts, 30 to 50 deaths are attributed to SUID each year.
To decrease the chances of SUID, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the following:
- Placing an infant for sleep on his/her back until the age of 1,
- Placing the baby on a firm sleep surface covered by a tight-fitted sheet,
- Keeping soft objects and loose bedding out of the crib, such as pillows, blankets, quilts, comforters, sheepskins, toys, stuffed animals and bumper pads,
- Having the infant’s crib, portable crib, play yard, or bassinet in the parents’ bedroom close to the parents’ bed,
- Room-sharing is recommended, but bed-sharing is not advised because it can result in suffocation, strangulation and entrapment,
- Preventing overheating by not overdressing infants,
- Avoiding over bundling and covering of the head and face,
- Dressing infants in clothing appropriate for their environment, and,
- Avoiding smoking, during and after pregnancy, and exposing a baby to second-hand smoke.
Experts also advise that room temperature be regulated between 68-72 degrees at all times of the year. Signs of overheating include sweating and/or the infant’s chest being hot to the touch.
The event on January 30 at Fellsway Pediatrics was the first of several events that District Attorney Ryan and members of her Safe Babies, Safe Kids Task Force (SBSK) will host as part of the 2015 Infant Safe Sleep Campaign. District Attorney Ryan kicked off the county-wide campaign last December at Winchester Hospital along with approximately 100 members from the healthcare, law enforcement and child welfare communities.
Events in the coming months will include outreach to other pediatric offices, meetings with staff at OB/GYN offices, outreach to specific retailers, and free regional community workshops for expectant and new parents on sleep safety. In addition, a smartphone app that promotes safe sleep tips will be launched and in March, and a cable access show will be taped on the topic and made available for broadcast at media outlets across Middlesex County.
Middlesex County is the most populous county in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the twenty-third most populous county in the United States. There are more than 1.5 million residents in the county, and of those 85,000 are under the age of 5.
District Attorney Ryan has prioritized the protection of children both in an out of the courtroom. Under her leadership, SBSK has produced and distributed educational materials to parents, caregivers and other stakeholders on topics such as water safety, window safety and car Safety. The office’s Child Protection Unit-- comprised of 9 Assistant District Attorneys, 5 Victim Witness Advocates, and 3 Child Interview Specialists -- is a specialized unit charged with investigating and prosecuting crimes against children, and is actively engaged in the office’s community outreach and public education initiatives.
For more information about SUID, including additional recommendations for parents and caregivers, please review the policy statement published by the American Academy of Pediatrics: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2011/10/12/peds.2011... .
To learn more about the Middlesex Safe Babies, Safe Kids Task Force (SBSK) and to download educational materials, please click here.
(Please note, in the attached photo are, from left to right, Amanda Biagioni, Brittney Ferguson and her baby Kaylee Costa, State Representative Paul Brodeur, Mayor Robert Dolan, District Attorney Marian Ryan, Dr. Matthew Brewer, and State Senator Jason Lewis.)