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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Lawrence Curry |
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House passes Curry's SIDS education bill
HARRISBURG, June 2 – The Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Monday passed legislation sponsored by state Rep. Lawrence Curry, D-Montgomery/Phila., that would ensure new parents in Pennsylvania are educated about the risk factors associated with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Sudden Unexpected Death of Infants.
"House Bill 47 is intended to reduce the number of SIDS and SUDI deaths in Pennsylvania by establishing an education and public awareness program overseen by the Pennsylvania Department of Health to inform parents about the risk factors associated with SIDS and SUDI," Curry said. "While there is still no known way to prevent sudden infant death, we can help to minimize the number of deaths by educating parents about the risk factors."
Some of the most common risk factors for sudden infant death include an unsafe infant sleeping position, exposure to smoke, overheating, inappropriate infant bedding and bed sharing with parents.
After the American Academy of Pediatrics launched a national Back to Sleep campaign in 1994 that endorsed and promoted the placement of infants on their backs for sleeping and napping, the incidence of sudden infant death in the United States fell by more than half.
In 2005 the academy issued a new recommendation to further reduce the risk of SIDS that defined and promoted the use of a safe sleeping environment for infants, which includes placing the infant on his or her back on a firm mattress, removing bulky blankets and comforters from the crib, and never letting the infant share a bed.
SIDS accounts for nearly 3,000 deaths annually in the U.S., including approximately 100 each year in Pennsylvania. Although SIDS and SUDI cut across all socioeconomic, racial and ethnic groups, statistics show that African-American and Native-American babies are more likely to be at risk. Most SIDS deaths occur when a baby is between 2 months and 4 months old, with 90 percent occurring before 6 months of age.
The bill now moves to the state Senate for consideration.
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