On June 2, Alexandria police were called to the 1000 block of Gibbon Street at 9:05 a.m. to assist medics with an infant who was not breathing. The baby, a four-month-old boy, was transported to Inova Alexandria Hospital. He was pronounced dead at 9:43 a.m.
Initial investigation indicates that the baby was in the care of a baby-sitter when he stopped breathing. An autopsy, which was completed the next day, indicated that the baby died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
"As best as we understand it, SIDS seems to happen when a child who is uniquely vulnerable, for whatever reason, meets up with a specific set of environmental circumstances, like sleeping face down," wrote Dr. Wendy Gunther in the Spring 2005 issue of the Virginia SIDS Alliance newsletter. "To me, 'Unexplained Death' is an interpretation of last resort. It means I have made my best effort to understand this child's death, and I really cannot reconcile all the findings with any diagnosis."
The syndrome was first identified in 1969, when a team of medical researchers defined SIDS as "the sudden death of any infant or young child, which is unexpected by history, and in which a thorough postmortem examination fails to demonstrate an adequate cause for death."
In 1989, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development convened an expert panel to review the scientific knowledge the syndrome and to determine whether the current criteria for SIDS diagnosis should be revised. This panel amended the definition of SIDS to read "the sudden death of an infant under one year of age which remains unexplained after a thorough case investigation, including performance of a complete autopsy, examination of the death scene, and review of the clinical history."
According to the Virginia SIDS Alliance, the syndrome is the leading cause of death in babies after 1 month of age to 1 year of age. The statewide organization recommends several steps to prevent SIDS:
* Always place the baby on his or her back to sleep, even for naps.
* Place the baby to sleep on a firm mattress in a safety approved crib.
* Remove soft, fluffy, and loose bedding and stuffed toys from your babies sleep area.
* Make sure that everyone who cares for the baby knows to place the baby on his or her back to sleep and about the dangers of soft bedding.
* Make sure the baby's face and head stay uncovered during sleep.
* Do not allow smoking around the baby.
* Don't let the baby get too warm during sleep.
* Do not allow the baby to sleep with an adult.