RISCS (RESOLVING INFANT SLEEP CONTROVERSIES SAFELY ) Is a standing committee of OBA comprised of citizens whose mission is to increase infant sleep safety without compromising other crucial aspects of infant growth and development.

Vision: RISCS wants to eliminate or reduce infant sleep-related deaths in a way that supports optimal infant and family physical and emotional development.

Mission: We are dedicated to the development of safe infant sleep guidelines or recommendations for parents and professionals generated from valid evidence based information, allowing parents and professionals to weigh benefits and risks in order to make informed sleeping choices for the infants in their care.

Considerations: RISCS supports Healthy People 2010 goals 16-1 to reduce infant deaths, 16-13 to increase the percentage of healthy full term infants who are put down to sleep on their backs and 16-19 to increase the proportion of mothers who breastfeed their babies.
Please consider, RISCS identified several aspects of current infant safe sleep research and related information that appear problematic, yet should be considered , when developing appropriate guidelines or recommendations.

These include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. Failure to distinguish between Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and suffocation, which may be referred to as a rollover or overlaying.
2.Vague data collection, such as police/crime scene reporting that does not allow for precise statistical analysis of such variables as :
  • Where the death occurred, such as child's home, relatives home, day care setting, etc.

  • The specific infant sleep site at the time of death, such as crib, car seat, sofa, soft chair, parent's/other's bed, etc.

  • Potential contributing factors related to the infant sleep site at the time of death, such as mattress, bedding type, objects in/at infant sleep site, etc.

  • Demographics related to the person/persons who occupied the infant sleep site with infant at the time of death, such as:
a) Relationship to infant of person/persons who
occupied the sleep site with the infant at time of
death (if any).
b) Person/persons supervising infant during sleep at
time of death.
c) Presence of risk factors associated with and
person/persons who occupied the sleep site with the
infant at the time of death, such as tobacco use,
sobriety at time of infant death, drugs , alcohol,
prescription medications, BMI, age, etc.

  • Demographic or potential contributing factors
         related to infant presenting with a sleep related          death, such as infant:
a) Gestational age at birth.
b) Physical conditions or anomalies.
c) Feeding method,
e.g. breastfed (full, partial) or formula-fed.

  • Ethical issues of withholding information to improve infant sleep safety when bed sharing, since the majority of parents bed-share with their babies for all or part of the night.

  • Conflicts of interests for organizations focused on infant sleep-related deaths that depend on commercial sponsors for funding. e.g. Manufacturers of infant related products such as cribs or formula.
RESOLVING INFANT SLEEP CONTROVERSIES SAFELY
References:
Ball. Helen (2003). "Breastfeeding, Bed-sharing and infant sleep." Birth. Issues in prenatal care, 30(3):181-188

Fleming, P., Blair P. and McKenna,J.J.(2006)
"New knowledge, new insight, new recommendations" Arch. Dis Child, 91:799-801
This link will take you various links on healthy sleep arrangements
http://www.nd.edu/~jmckenn1/lab/faq.html