GREENVILLE, N.C. - There’s some alarming news when it comes to infant health.
Cases of sudden infant death syndrome in North Carolina took a dramatic and unexpected jump.
That's after SIDS cases either fell or held relatively steady in recent years.
No one knows why.
About a dozen couples on the verge of becoming new parents learn the dos and don'ts that go along with having a baby around the house.
Expectant mothers like Phyllis Langley all want the same thing.
"Don't want anything to happen to baby," says expectant mother Phyllis Langley.
The problem is, when it comes to sudden infant death syndrome, it is happening to baby.
The latest records from North Carolina indicate there were 136 SIDS cases in 2008, up from a hundred the year before, a 36% increase.
"It's quite frankly surprise," said Dr. John Olsson, a pediatrician at ECU’s Brody School of Medicine.
Dr. John Olsson's surprised because SIDS cases had been gradually dropping.
That’s credited in part to increased education in pre-natal classes and other legislation.
For years, parents have been told to put infants to sleep on their backs.
State law requires daycare providers to do this.
There are also other risk factors: exposure to second-hand smoke, rooms that are too warm or too cold as well as too many blankets and pillows around the baby.
Another very big danger involves parents sleeping with their baby.
That accounted for 43% of the SIDS cases.
"It seems very natural to be close to your baby, but this is one area where there needs to be a great deal of caution," said Dr. Olsson.
All of this information can overwhelm new parents who only want a happy and healthy child.
"You think about everything and, you know, that when, you know, the baby sleeps, you want to rest. But, then again when he sleeps, you want to watch him sleep, you know, to make sure, you know, that he's sleeping, breathing properly," said Langley.
Doctors say this is a wake up call for parents to pay attention and re-examine what they do at home.
A wake up call no one wants to turn into a 911 call.
Scientists still don't know exactly what causes SIDS.
Researchers at the North Carolina Child Fatality Task Force warn against trying to draw too many conclusions from the latest numbers.
Next year’s data for 2009 will go a long way to determining whether this is a dangerous trend or just an irregular year.
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