Primary Care Perspectives: Sleep-related Death in Infants Is Common and Preventable - Episode 126

Primary Care Perspectives: Podcast for Pediatricians

In Philadelphia, sleep-related deaths (including SIDS, accidental suffocation, and unknown cause) are the second-highest cause of infant mortality, after prematurity. Two pediatricians, Roy Hoffman, MD, MPH, Medical Director, Fatality Review Program, Philadelphia Department of Public Health, who sees patients at a health department-run community health center (Health Center #6), and Stacey Kallem, MD, Director, Division of Maternal, Child, & Family Health at Philadelphia Department of Public Health, provide an overview, including: incidence and factors; racial-ethnic disparity; a review of barriers to safe sleep and ideas for effective counseling for prevention; ways to help parents get support, including for lactation and smoking cessation; genomic sequencing and other research into medical causes for sleep-related deaths; practical tips to share with parents; and more.