Of all the worries parents face when they bring home their newborn child, the greatest threat occurs when it may seem least likely: while their baby is asleep.
Rush University System for Health, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office and community members opened SIDS Awareness Month with the release of a on sudden unexpected infant deaths in the county. The goal is to let families and people who care for children see the magnitude of this public health threat and understand how babies are protected by safe sleep practices, which prevent suffocation.
鈥淥n average, one infant in Cook County dies each week due to sudden unexpected infant death,鈥 Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said. "We want the information in this report to arm parents and caregivers with knowledge about the dangers that can take the life of newborns and infants.鈥
Since 2019, each SUID has been examined and recorded by the Cook County Sudden Unexpected Infant Death Case Registry, a collaboration between the Medical Examiner's Office and Rush. From 2019 to 2023, 208 families lost an infant to a sleep-related death. In honor of those babies, 208 onesies lined the wall behind the speakers.
To look more deeply into these infant deaths, the Medical Examiner鈥檚 Office, led by Chief Medical Examiner Ponni Arunkumar, partnered with Rush on the study.
鈥淲e see that small changes in an infant鈥檚 environment can mean the difference between life and death,鈥 Arunkumar said. 鈥淥ur hope is that by shining a spotlight on these deaths, we can prevent them.鈥
The registry team gathers the details of each death and analyzes the information to find common situations, ages, backgrounds, health histories and more. These facts help identify which babies may be most at risk, what situations are a danger and what information families and communities need. For example, in the registry鈥檚 first five years, 99% of these deaths occurred while the infant was sleeping in an unsafe environment, such as sharing a bed with an adult or in a space with soft items, like a blanket or pillow, or products like baby loungers and nursing pillows.
鈥淓ach one of these deaths is painful, a devastating loss to their loved ones,鈥 said , professor of pediatrics at Rush who established the registry. 鈥淪leep-related deaths are by far the biggest threat to a baby once home from the hospital.鈥
The report analyzed the deaths to help create ways to prevent them, said , associate professor of pediatrics at Rush and principal investigator for the registry.
Two-thirds of deaths occurred when the infant was sharing an adult bed, couch or other sleep surface with another person, and nine out of 10 died with soft bedding items in their sleep environment. Most babies died before they were six months old, and 27% were premature.
The report shows there continues to be large racial and ethnic differences, with Black and Hispanic infants dying at rates 14 and 2.3 times higher than white infants, respectively. Though sleep-related infant deaths declined modestly in 2022 and 2023 in Cook County, 鈥渕uch work remains to raise awareness of these tragedies and effectively promote safe infant sleep practices to prevent them,鈥 Lowell said.
鈥淭he key to understanding safe sleep practices is to remember that preventing suffocation prevents these deaths,鈥 Lowell said. 鈥淭hat means having nothing that could block the airway or compress the neck or chest when they are sleeping.鈥
Felicia Tillis-Clark is the prevention coordinator for Community Partnership Approaches for Safe Sleep, which was created by the SUID Case Registry team in 2022. Housed at Rush University Children鈥檚 Hospital, CPASS Chicago joins trusted community partners to connect with families to start conversations about sleep-related infant death and safe sleep practices.
Before taking on her prevention coordinator role, Tillis-Clark was the infant death scene investigator for the Cook County Medical Examiner鈥檚 Office.
鈥淚 saw the pain families endure when an infant dies,鈥 Tillis-Clark said. 鈥淭alking about sleep-related infant deaths is hard, but if we can discuss it with compassion and without judgment, we can better understand what babies and families need.鈥
Under Tillis-Clark鈥檚 leadership, CPASS Chicago creates a safe place for open discussions about the barriers to safe sleep, including the real and often challenging circumstances that affect families every day. At community baby showers, resource fairs, neighborhood events and more, the CPASS team listens and educates about sleep-related infant death, empowering parents to lead the way to safer sleep.
Destiny Tyler draws from her own pain when talking about safe sleep with family, friends 鈥渙r anyone who will listen.鈥 Today she spoke about the loss of her 6-month-old son Kaiden, who died in his sleep.
鈥淵ou never think it will happen to you until it does, and if sharing my experience can prevent even one family from going through this heartbreak, then it鈥檚 worth every conversation,鈥 she said. 鈥淢y goal is not to scare anyone, but to inform and educate, because so many people simply don鈥檛 know, and knowledge really can make a difference.鈥
Access the report with this PDF or on .
