Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Network Electronic Newsletter 9903
March 28, 1999

ATTENTION: To continue receiving this electronic newsletter, please
re-subscribe at the SIDS Network home page:
http://sids-network.org
at the "Join List:Listbot" button.

The April electronic newsletter will be the last one sent to the old e-mail
list. Please re-subscribe to continue receiving this newsletter.

For the month of March 1999 the SIDS Network web site is sponsored by Judy,
Terry, Brian, Mary, & Sarah Rainey in loving memory of Joseph Kimmitt Rainey.
http://sids-network.org/raineygif.htm.

For the month of April 1999 the SIDS Network web site is sponsored by
Geneva Elias and David Arpie and son Robert Elias in loving memory of Eliza
Michelle Elias Arpie.
http://sids-network.org/arpiegif.htm  

Information about sponsorship of the web site can be found at:
http://sids-network.org/your_donation_can_help_the_sids_.htm  

If you are attending the April SIDS conference in Atlanta, GA. please stop
by the SIDS Network table to visit.

Contents:

1. SIDS Risk Reduction Information for Infant Care Providers
2. April 1999 SIDS Alliance Conference
3. Circle of Support
4. Selected RECALLS, ALERTS, and NEWS from CPSC
5. Books

1. SIDS Risk Reduction Information for Infant Care Providers

Scientific findings recently released by the Children's National Medical
Center in Washington, revealed that a disproportionate number of babies in
day care may be at increased risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. The
11-state study, which reviewed 1,916 SIDS deaths from 1995 to 1997 found
that 14% occurred in day care homes or centers, which was double the
expected level.

Please help communicate SIDS Risk Reduction information to those who may
care for infants.

SIDS Risk reduction information can be found at:
http://sids-network.org/basic.htm
in fourteen languages.

SIDS Risk Reduction information can also be found at:
http://www.nih.gov/nichd/docs/news/SIDS_HP_2/quan.html

2. April 1999 SIDS Alliance Conference

Information about the April SIDS conference is available on the SIDS
Alliance web page at:
http://www.sidsalliance.org/events/default.asp?goto=59  

"The 1999 SIDS Alliance conference is only several weeks away. I'm looking
forward to meeting those of you who will be with us. It promises to be a
productive program."

"We realized that many folks weren't aware of the pre-conference workshops.
We will have Peer Contact Training for folks whose loss is more than a
year. The New SIDS Parent forum is for families whose babies died in the
past year or so. I want to let you know about two other pre-conference
workshops which are still open for registration. Call 1-800-221-7437 to
register. See you in Atlanta!!"

- Lee Tanenbaum, Conference Co-Chair
Georgia SIDS Information and Counseling Program
Co-Chair, 1999 National SIDS Alliance Conference

Public Health Communications Training
Michael Greenwell, Lisa Swenarksi
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
CDC

Ever get sweaty palms when a call from a reporter comes to you? Ever feel
nervous about that question that you don't want the reporter to ask? Ever
feel like you are missing opportunities to present your public health
message through the news media? This three hour workshop will teach you
how the media functions in today's competitive news environment, and how to
best use your skills and expertise to deliver the message you want to
deliver through a news media interview. There will be tips, skills
building and hands-on experience with Mike Greenwell and Lisa Swenarksi
from CDC. Mike and Lisa have years of experience as media relations and
health communications specialists, working with groups such as CDC's
Division of Reproductive Health, as well as many other CDC's programs.

Outreach to Child Care Providers: Reducing the Risk of SIDS and When
Infant Death Occurs in Child Care Settings

Reducing infant deaths is a major priority in the U.S. SIDS is the single
leading cause of death for American babies from one week to one year of
age. Due to the increased numbers of working mothers, a growing percentage
of SIDS and other infant deaths occur in child care. For this reason, it
is important to assure that child care providers are aware and implementing
risk reduction activities related to SIDS. An infant*s death in a child
care setting requires a variety of interventions. Information and
counseling should be available to three groups: the bereaved family, the
child care provider, and other children at the child care facility.

Participants in this workshop will gain a better understanding of:

1. National efforts to outreach to child care providers regarding reducing
the risk of SIDS;
2. Best practice standards which relate to both risk reduction and infant
death in child care settings;
3. How Georgia has implemented outreach strategies to child care providers;
and
4. Model training curriculum targeted to child care providers.

Participants:

Lee Tanenbaum, MA, MPH, Coordinator
Georgia Public Health SIDS Information and Counseling Program

Ruth Dubois, Coordinator
*Back to Sleep* Campaign, NICHD

Jane Coury, MSN, RN, project officer
Health and Safety in Child Care, Maternal and Child Health Bureau

Ruth Anne Foote, MA, Director of Special Projects
National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies

Gina Clement, SIDS parent, producer of Caregivers Hurt Too: An educational
video about SIDS and issues involved when a SIDS death occurs with a child
care provider

Donna Shelton, child care provider
Springfield, Virginia

Sherry Smith, BS, Standards Surveyor
Child Care Licensing/Office of Regulatory Services/Georgia Department of
Human Resources

Marsha Moore, BS, MPA, Assistant Director
Office of School Readiness, State of Georgia

3. Circle of Support

What is the Circle of Support?
The Circle of Support is a group of individuals who have been touched by
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, who are willing to share their time and
talents with those who are seeking support and information.

How does this apply to me?
All of us (whether we are parents, siblings, grandparents, extended
family, foster parents, day care providers, co-workers, friends, health
care providers, first responders, clergy, funeral directors, etc.) need
some form of support, whether immediately following the death our precious
babies, during a particularly difficult anniversary or milestone date, or
years later for no particular reason. It is said that certain dolphins and
whales display a social behavior for other dolphins or whales needing
support. The healthy ones circle the needy one and provide physical support
to help the healing process.

Why might this work for me?
There is no equal substitute for a physical meeting to exchange
feelings, or to just listen and talk. Sometimes a phone call to a special
person fulfills that need. However, more times than not, a void exists
because our emotional needs don't always coincide with meeting dates, there
may not be a support network locally available, phone calls are not
practical, or we just do not wish to deal with others face-to-face. This
portion of the SIDS Network's growing SIDS Information Web Site may help
fill that void.

To learn more or to become part of the Circle of Support[ please visit:
http://sids-network.org/cirsup.htm 

4. Selected RECALLS, ALERTS, and NEWS from CPSC

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has released the following recalls,
alerts, and news. The information can be found at:

http://sids-network.org/cpsc.htm 

Recent topics include:

- CPSC, Safari Ltd. Announce Recall of Toy Puzzles; Release # 99-081; March
18, 1999
- CPSC, Chariot Victor Publishing Announce Recall of VeggieTales' Dave and
the Giant Pickle Playset; Release # 99-074; March 8, 1999
- CPSC, NIKE Announce Recall of Infant's "Little Air Jordan" Sneakers;
Release # 99-073; March 5, 1999
- CPSC, Disney Announce Recall of Mickey's Waffle Irons; Release # 99-072;
March 4, 1999

5. Books

-Buy books through Amazon.com and support the SIDS Network

Many books, videos, and other media can be ordered directly through Amazon.com, the leading Internet source of books. A portion of your sale will directly benefit the SIDS Network if you order items by following links from the SIDS Network web site to the Amazon.com web site.

A list of suggested books with links to Amazon.com can be found at: http://sids-network.org/books.htm.

You have just finished reading the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Network Electronic Newsletter. This newsletter is available on the Web site at http://sids-network.org/newsletter/.

If you come across articles or information on SIDS, please e-mail the information to sidsnet1-at-sids-network-dot-org

We send this newsletter to interested people through several e-mail mailing list sources. Because of this, you may receive more than one copy. We apologize for this inconvenience.

You may remove yourself from the SIDS Network e-mail mailing list by e-mailing your request to the SIDS Network at sidsnet1-at-sids-network-dot-org