SIDS Campaigns Save Lives in Ukraine
Alyona still shivers with fear when she recalls seeing her daughter lying face down, motionless in her bed. “She was an absolutely healthy child, and I left her unattended for just five minutes,” she tells a Maternal & Infant Health Project (MIHP) consultant in a Luhansk pediatric polyclinic.
Home deaths account for a large portion of overall infant mortality in Ukraine. Of 33 home deaths that occurred in Luhansk Oblast in 2007, 14 were attributed to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
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A volunteer explains in Lisichansk (Luhansk oblast) explain SIDS prevention actions during SIDS Prevention Campaign in September 2007
Photo Credit: Oleksandr Golubov |
While much more research on SIDS is needed, it is known that the threat of SIDS can be significantly decreased if a baby sleeps on its back in a room where the temperature does not exceed 72 degrees Fahrenheit. It is also essential that the baby sleeps in a smoke-free environment.
In 2006, MIHP, in cooperation with TNK-BP, a large oil company, conducted several focus group discussions to measure SIDS awareness among mothers and health care providers in Luhansk city. Participants in both groups demonstrated very poor knowledge of the issue. Most mothers believed that sleeping on its belly was best for their baby and aided their digestion. Similar arguments were voiced by health care providers.
Based on the focus group findings, MIHP launched a SIDS prevention campaign in Luhansk Oblast in September 2007. The campaign, “Having Them Sleep on Their Backs Can Save Children’s Lives,” was designed to raise SIDS awareness through trainings for health care professionals and the dissemination of booklets, calendars and other informational materials in public places. Local health authorities have reported the campaign to be very successful in raising general public awareness about SIDS.
Since then, MIHP has received many requests to undertake similar SIDS prevention campaigns in other Ukrainian oblasts. In November 2007, a campaign was conducted in Zhytomyr Oblast with the financial support of local private commercial companies. Campaigns are scheduled for roll-out in Zakarpattia, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Cherkasy and Poltava Oblasts and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in 2008.
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