SIDS Walk Saturday

This Saturday will be the 13th annual SIDS walk in Iowa. The walks will be taking place across the state, including in Washington. The event raises awareness of the phenomenon known as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

The SIDS walk is in its sixth year at Washington and will be held at Sunset Park. The day begins with a 5K run at 7:30 a.m. Registration is at 7 a.m. The walk is at 9:30 a.m. and registration for it begins at 8:30 a.m. The morning will feature door prizes, raffles, refreshments and kidsí face painting. Walkers attending the event are encouraged to bring a photo of the baby they are walking in memory of to be displayed at the park.

Tricia Lipski, who helped organize the SIDS walk, said this is the first year of the 5K run. The runnersí route will go through Sunset Park and onto the Kewash Trail. The runners will go to Highway 92 and then turn around and finish at the park. The walkers will walk around the track that circles the New Dawn playground.   

Lipski said the annual SIDS walk is the largest fundraiser the organization has.

ìThe proceeds support families whose children died of SIDS,î she said. ìSometimes the state refers folks to this foundation.î

The foundation educates child care providers and law enforcement about SIDS. Lipski said Washington has amazing personnel, from the first responders to the police to the hospital staff. Tricia and her husband Tonyís second child died of SIDS, and Tricia said the local emergency personnel were very kind. She said that is not always true in SIDS cases, in which the authorities treat it as if itís a crime scene.

The Iowa SIDS Foundation helps educate families about how they can reduce the incidence of SIDS. One of their campaigns is the ìBack to Sleepî campaign, which encourages parents to lay their babies on their back instead of on their tummy until they are 1 year of age. Parents should also lay their babies on a firm mattress and refrain from using pillows, crib bumper pads or blankets over or under the baby. SIDS has been associated with warm rooms so parents are encouraged to keep their babies? room at 65 degrees when they?re asleep.    

Lipski said that laying babies on their back seems counter-intuitive to people since they assume the babies would be more likely to choke on their own saliva. What is harmful about laying a baby on its stomach is that it can fall into a deep sleep and suffocate more easily.

Lipski said the attendance at the SIDS walk has been pretty consistent at around 100 people the last few years. She said sheís glad at the support she and other parents have received who have lost a child to SIDS.