Health Resource Spotlight: Reducing the Risk of SIDS in Child Care Settings

The Problem:

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) refers to the death of an infant between one and 12 months old which cannot be explained. It is the most common cause of death for infants and usually occurs when a baby is sleeping. Roughly 12 percent of SIDS deaths occur while infants are in the care of someone other than the parent, including in early care and education programs.

One Solution:

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has created a new online course on Reducing the Risk of SIDS and SUID in Early Education and Child Care. It’s a free, contact credit-bearing resource.

Because researchers still do not know exactly what causes SIDS, all caregivers need to understand what it is and what steps they can take to reduce its risk. AAP designed this resource to educate anyone who cares for infants about:

• What we currently know about SIDS
• Practices that can reduce the risk of SIDS and other sleep-related infant deaths
• What creating a safe sleep environment entails
• How to raise awareness and change sleep practices in family child care homes and center-based child care programs
• How to encourage states to include safe sleep practices within state child care regulations

This online course is available on the AAP website. Child care providers who successfully complete the course are eligible for 1.0 contact hour of training credit.