Pediatric News Briefs: SIDS, Topical Anesthetic Gels, Home-Visiting Programs

Placing infants to sleep on their backs is the current recommended practice to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS.) However, some infants roll into a prone position (on their stomachs) while sleeping. The study, “Influence of Sleep Position Experience on Ability of Prone-Sleeping Infants to Escape From Asphyxiating Microenvironments by Changing Head Position,” looked at whether the ability to change head positions increases or decreases the risk of SIDS in prone sleeping infants. Babies who have experience with prone positioning during waking hours, seem to have better head turning skills. However, better head turning skills does not assure safety if the infant turns prone. The authors reiterate the importance of never placing a back sleeping infant in a prone position, particularly in a child care setting. While “tummy time” (waking hours on a child’s tummy) is important for development, infants should be watched closely during this time to be sure they do not fall asleep in the prone position.

Topical Anesthetic Gels For MMR Vaccine

A topical anesthetic gel significantly reduces the pains of measles-mumps-rubella vaccinations in infants, as found in the study “Topical 4% Amethocaine Gel Reduces the Pain of Subcutaneous Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccination.” In addition, the topical application of this gel did not seem to interfere with the effectiveness of the vaccination. A total of 120 infants participated in the study. An amethocaine gel was applied to half of the infants and half were applied with a placebo 30 minutes before vaccination. The Modified Behavioral Pain Scale indicated that the pain scores were lower (meaning less pain) for the amethocaine group than the placebo group. There was no difference in vaccination effectiveness between the two groups. The study suggests that topical local anesthetics are a viable option for decreasing the pain and anxiety of routine immunizations.

Prenatal and Infant Home-Visiting Program

A prenatal and infant home-visiting program improved the lives of urban black moms and their children – even 4 years after the program ended. The study, “Effects of Nurse Home-Visiting on Maternal Life Course and Child Development: Age 6 Follow-up Results of a Randomized Trial,” tested the effect of nurse home visits on mothers’ fertility and economic self-sufficiency and their children’s academic and behavioral development as they concluded kindergarten. The researchers provided first-time moms and their babies with nurse home visits until the child’s second birthday. They found, when examined against women in a comparison group, nurse-visited moms had fewer subsequent pregnancies and births, less use of welfare, and longer relationships with their partners. Their children demonstrated higher IQs and language scores. They also displayed fewer behavioral problems. The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 60,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adul

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Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

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