October is SIDS Awareness Month – Safe Sleeping Saves Lives

At Lively living, we’re proud to be world leaders in helping children get to sleep – and stay asleep – with our groundbreaking sleep aids and sleep-promoting essential oil blends. We understand the importance of sleep for physical and emotional wellbeing, as well as for growth and development. You could say our Aroma-Snooze has saved the sleep (and sanity) of families all across Australia…but today we want to talk about saving lives.
 
SIDS Awareness – Safe Sleep Saves Lives
SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) impacts 3,200 families annually in Australia. SIDS, or Cot Death, as it is sometimes known, is the unexplained death, usually during sleep, of a seemingly healthy baby less than a year old.
While the exact cause of SIDS is unknown, many clinicians and researchers believe that SIDS is associated with problems in the ability of the baby to arise from sleep, to detect low levels of oxygen or a buildup of carbon dioxide in the blood. Additionally, many cases of suspected SIDS turn out to be suffocation due to an unsafe sleeping environment.
While such alarming statistics are enough to make any parent loose sleep, thankfully, with ongoing research, fundraising and global awareness, there are many ways we can reduce the risk of SIDS.
With October recognised as SIDS Awareness month around the world, there’s never been a better time to shine a spotlight on the simple, lifesaving practices that can save a family from a lifetime of heartbreak.
 
How to create a safe sleep environment for your baby
Scientists have identified several risk factors that are present in SIDS. By removing known risk factors and providing a safe sleeping environment most SIDS-related deaths are preventable.
The Department of Health’s initiative, Direct Health, encourages parents to reduce the risk of SIDS by ensuring baby’s sleep on their back from the very beginning, for both day and night sleeps. Evidence-based research indicates healthy babies placed on their backs are less likely to choke.
Red Nose, Australia’s SIDS-prevention organisation and leading authority on safe sleep, have compiled a comprehensive list of resources on SIDS and safe sleeping environments for parents to help ensure all potential dangers have been removed and baby is sleeping in a safe place for both day and night sleeps. They state:

• Soft surfaces and bedding, including bulky or loose blankets, head coverings, toys and cot bumpers, are an unsafe sleeping environment that can increase the risk of SIDS. This is because soft bedding can cover your baby’s face and obstruct their breathing, and may cause overheating.
• The safest place for a baby to sleep is in a safe cot on a safe mattress, with safe bedding.
• A safe sleeping environment is one where your baby is sleeping in a safe cot that meets Australian standards, on a firm, flat surface.
• If a blanket is being used, ensure your baby is placed with their feet at the end of the cot, with the blanket tucked securely underneath the mattress, so it can only ride up as far as baby’s chest and cannot cover their head.

 
Red Nose Australia’s evidence-based safe sleeping practices are:

• Sleep your baby on his back from birth, not on his tummy or side.
• Sleep your baby with his face and head uncovered.
• Keep baby smoke free before and after birth.
• Provide a safe sleeping environment night and day.
• Sleep your baby in a safe cot in the same room as you for the first six to twelve months.
• Breastfeed if you can.

If you would like more information about safe sleeping, or the life-saving work Red Nose does to raise funds for SIDS prevention and ongoing research, and their annual fundraising event Red Nose Day, you’ll find all the details on their website.
 

Image source: https://rednose.org.au/resources/education
 
Lively Living’s Aroma-Snooze – a must for every nursery
Promoting healthy, safe sleep environments is an important part of Lively Living’s vision, and our product range certainly supports this.  We’re thrilled to be able to offer a sleep aid that aligns with SIDS prevention recommendations by being positioned outside the cot.
Our sleep-promoting aroma diffuser, Aroma-Snooze and its companion essential oil blend Aroma-Snooze Remedy enhances sleep environments by acting as a humidifier, ioniser, and air purifier in one attractive design.  With inclusions such as LED red and orange light therapy, a built-in personal voice recorder, and sound and music tracks including relaxing and uplifting rhythmic lullabies, pink noise, heartbeat, and rainfall, the Aroma-Snooze is a must-have for children of all ages to help them soothe, settle, and restore natural sleep cycles.
Whether you’re expecting the joy of your first baby, or welcoming a new addition to your family, safe sleep environments and safe sleeping practices are the best way to reduce the risk – and statistics – of SIDS.
 
Wishing you all safe and sweet dreams from the team at Lively Living.