Alta Mayhugh | Williston Herald Tavin Knudson, who was born last Thursday to Samantha and Terrell Knudson of Tioga at Mercy Medical Center in Williston, is snuggled up in a Swaddle SleepSack. The hospital has begun using the sleep sacks and giving each new mother one to take home.
He had started to stir, but once the fleece sleep sack was zipped up and the swaddle flaps wrapped snugly around him, Tavin was back to sleep.
"They're nice and easy, easier than a blanket. It's pretty self-explanatory," Samantha Knudson said about the sleep sack. She had her son at Mercy Medical Center in Williston.
Thanks to money raised from the Mercy Medical Center Auxiliary and Mercy Medical Center Foundation, the obstetrics unit will now give every new mother a Swaddle SleepSack for her new baby--a pink one for a girl, blue for a boy. And the OB unit will have green ones for the babies to use while they're in the hospital, said Leslie Sullivan, marketing and communications manager at the hospital.
Lorrie Antos, OB manager, said the outfits help reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) because they can be used instead of blankets. Babies can suffocate when their bedding such as blankets and pillows in his or her sleeping area. The sleep blankets also help soothe babies. Up until they're three months old, babies can be calmed when they're swaddled.
"They're going to be very comfortable for babies," Antos said.
The Auxiliary raised approximately $3,500 to give sleep sacks to every new mother with the idea there are an estimated 40 births at Mercy Medical Center, Sullivan said. And the Foundation raised $2,000 for the OB unit to be stocked with sleep sacks, she said.
The idea to purchase sleep sacks for the OB department and new mothers came from Dana Johnson, gift shop coordinator, who noticed the products while looking at items for the shop and brought them to the attention of the department, Sullivan said. The gift shop will be stocked with the sleep sacks if anyone wants to purchase them, she said.
The sleep slacks have the words "Mercy Medical Center" printed on them. There are plans to order cotton sleep sacks next year for the babies born in warm weather, Sullivan said.
Comments
Ashley wrote on Jul 27, 2010 12:17 AM:
GrandpaLeroy wrote on Jul 25, 2010 5:16 PM:
Like most parents, I have always had concerns about SIDS.
After reading the recent news stories about a 73% reduction in SIDS if there was a fan somewhere in the room, I wondered how this could be.
It occurred to me that we exhale carbon dioxide as we breath. Carbon dioxide is much heavier that air.
If the baby is placed in a basin-shaped bassinet or a crib with bumper pads or even blankets that can form a depression, there is a possibility that the "basin" can fill with carbon dioxide gas, much like water. Eventually the sleeping infant can drown in this deepening pool of gas.
Oxygen in this pool is depleted, while, simultaneously, the toxicity level of the carbon dioxide is increasing.
If both the parent and infant are breathing this same air then the oxygen should be used up much faster and the carbon dioxide toxicity level should also increase much faster.
If the baby is on its back, than the pool has to get much deeper before it can become a problem, explaining the back-to-sleep positioning.
A room fan can perhaps stir enough air to disrupt this gas pool, if it is properly located.
I believe a better approach would be to place a very small fan directly on the crib or bassinet.
I invented a special mini-fan for this purpose.
You can see it if you search for Infantaire SIDS Fan, if anyone is interested. "
Mom wrote on Jul 25, 2010 5:09 PM: