NEWS RELEASE
October 13, 1999

Michigan Department of Community Health Announces SIDS "Back to Sleep" Campaign

Michigan Department of Community Health Director, James K. Haveman, Jr., today announced a new campaign to reduce Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in the African American community. SIDS, also known as "crib death" is the leading cause of death in infants between one month and one year of age.

"Despite the reduction of SIDS in recent years, African American infants are three times more likely than Caucasian infants to die from SIDS," said Haveman. "It is critical that we reach parents and caregivers with the life-saving message that babies should be put on their backs to sleep."

In 1998 the SIDS death rate for white infants was 1.1 per 1,000 births. For black infants, the SIDS death rate was 2.6 per 1,000 births. The Department of Community Health will launch a television and radio public service announcement campaign on the "Back to Sleep" campaign which will focus on African American women ages 18 to 34.

The Michigan Department of Community Health is partnering with the Michigan SIDS Alliance, an organization whose mission is to educate the public about SIDS and the risk factors, plus provide family support and fund research. The Healthy Michigan Fund identified $400,000 to be used in partnership with the SIDS Alliance to support the Detroit campaign and hire a new grief counselor and risk reduction coordinator to work in Detroit. Hutzel Hospital has donated office space for the grief counselor and risk reduction coordinator to work out of.

The SIDS Alliance and the Michigan Department of Community Health will kick-off the Back to Sleep campaign October 13 at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit to promote three key life-saving messages.

• babies should sleep on their backs
• no smoking during pregnancy and there should be no smoking around the baby after it is born, including in the house where the baby lives or in the car in which the baby rides
• the safest sleeping environment for babies is on a firm mattress, in a crib, with no cushions, stuffed animals or pillows

"The Back to Sleep campaign has been credited with reducing the incidence of SIDS in the United States by nearly 50 percent, but it is clear we need to more effectively reach the African American population," said Sandra Frank, Executive Director of the Michigan SIDS Alliance. "We look forward to partnering with community, church and civic organizations as we take additional steps to reduce the incidence of SIDS in the African American community."

For additional information on reducing the rate of SIDS, please call the SIDS Alliance at 1-800-331-7437.