Michael Goodstein said he wants people to pay attention to "a terrible silent epidemic." Too many babies die -- locally and across the country -- because of unsafe sleeping conditions, he said.
Goodstein has been an attending neonatologist for more than 18 years at York Hospital for the Wellspan Medical Group. He's a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force On Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and
Goodstein is an expert on infant sleep safety issues, including education provided to new parents before they take their baby home.
"We have babies dying ... every year," he said. Many of those deaths, he said, could have been prevented.
Many studies show that in up to 90 percent of SIDS cases, the infant was found in an unsafe position. SIDS is one of the causes of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death, which kills about 4,500 infants in the United States per year.
Other causes of SUID include accidental suffocation, poisoning, metabolic disorders and neglect, Goodstein said.
"There's been such a tremendous increase," he said. Rates of accidental suffocation and strangulation for babies in bed have increased 30 percent in the last decade.
Goodstein established the York County Cribs for Kids Program and has been its director since 2003. The group developed the Infant Safe Sleep Initiative in 2008. The following year, the AAP gave Goodstein a Special Achievement Award.
Last month, Goodstein presented infant safe sleep research findings at an AAP national convention in New Orleans.
"There are all these things we can do in terms of education," he said of teaching people right and wrong ways to put an infant to sleep.
Babies can become entrapped between the bed and wall, bed frame, headboard or footboard when they sleep with an adult or child.
An infant should sleep on its back in the same room but not the same sleep surface as its caretaker.
A baby can also fall off an adult bed onto items such as pillows, thick quilts and comforters that cause suffocation.
Goodstein highlighted the "ABC's" of safe sleeping.
"Alone, on the back, in the crib and no smoking," he said and talked of efforts to "get the message out."
Goodstein said the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development recently kicked off its new "Safe To Sleep" campaign, which updates the "Back To Sleep" program that started in 1994.
Roughly 30,000 children are alive today because of the BTS campaign, Goodstein said.
"I think we're making progress," he said.
The latest program does not change BTS recommendations. It expands on them and updates research in the field, he said.
Every few years, experts review the programs to help parents make the best decisions possible for keeping their babies safe, he said.
Jonathan Liss, director of York Hospital's neonatal intensive care unit, addressed the importance of Goodstein's research.
"We know that a safe sleep environment and safe sleep practices decrease the incidences of sudden infant death," he said.
--- SIDS is the leading cause of infant death between 1 month and 1 year of age.
--- African-American babies are twice as likely to die of SIDS than white babies.
--- Most SIDS deaths occur when the baby is between 2 and 4 months old.
--- SIDS is not contagious, hereditary, brought on by child abuse, vomiting, choking or illnesses including colds or infections. It is not caused by immunizations against diseases such as diphtheria, pertussis or tetanus.
To reduce the risk of SIDS and accidental suffocation
--- Infants should sleep on their backs on a firm mattress in a safety-approved crib without soft bedding, bumpers, pillows, comforters or toys.
--- Keep the baby's sleep area near, but separate from where parents sleep.
--- Dress the infant in sleep clothes or a wearable blanket. If needed, one light cover, tucked securely at the bottom and sides of the crib, is a safe alternative.
--- Never let an infant sleep in a bed or chair with someone who is smoking, tired, ill or overweight.
--- Breastfeeding has important health benefits for babies and is protective against SIDS.
Sources: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; sids-network.org
Cribs for Kids
The Cribs for Kids program, which was created to reduce infant deaths by providing an appropriate sleep environment through education and safe cribs, has expanded to over 350 locations in all U.S. states with more than 50 counties in Pennsylvania that participate.
York County Cribs For Kids, developed in 2003, helped over 1,600 families create a safe sleep environment.
York County Cribs for Kids 717-812-7427 or 717-81-CRIBS
Adams County Cribs for Kids 717-337-0110
Read the Pennsylvania 2012 Child Death Review Annual Report: Deaths Reviewed in 2011 at http://www.childdeathreview.org/Reports/PA_CDR2012.pdf.