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Pediatric News Briefs: SIDS, Topical Anesthetic Gels, Home-Visiting Programs
Infants Should Sleep On Their Back
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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