Photo: Safe to Sleep NIH

JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Sudden Infant Death, more commonly referred to as SIDS, is something that can happen at anytime.

During the month of October, SIDS awareness comes into focus to help teach parents and guardians the ways to provide a safe sleep environment for infants. SIDS claims the lives of about 1,500 babies in the U.S. annually. An additional 900 babies die each year due to accidental suffocation or strangulation in bed.

Amber Martin of Jamestown is a mother of 7 children. She recently lost her youngest child to SIDS.

Martin says she’s sharing her difficult experience with SIDS to help others.

Jamestown Regional Medical Center Family BirthPlace Manager Emily Woodley says Martin sharing her story is important.

JRMC is the first and only hospital in North Dakota to receive the gold-level distinction from the Cribs for Kids Safe Sleep program.

The program encourages hospitals to educate and model the safest practices for putting a baby to sleep. This includes placing the baby to sleep on his or her back in a crib, rather than in a shared bed. Parents are encouraged to share a room with the child, but not a bed as rolling over on the child can be fatal, according to the NDDOH.

Market Manager Katie Ryan-Anderson says they also have teamed up with Sorlie family to create the ANGELS Fund.

For more information on the JRMC Family BirthPlace or SIDS, you’re encouraged to call (701) 952-4807 or email fbp@jrmcnd.com.

You can listen to a full Let’s Talk About It with Emily Woodley, Amber Martin, and Katie Ryan-Anderson below: