SIDS Study of American Indian Tribes of
North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa
Released to Help Prevent Future Infant Deaths

    Northern Plains Indian infants have been dying in excess of expected numbers. The rate of infant deaths is more than twice the national average. The Aberdeen Area of the Indian Health Service (AAIHS) had one of the highest rates of babies dying of what appeared to be Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). SIDS is the death of an infant with no medical explanation. This means that after a review of the autopsy, family and medical history, and the death scene, an explanation for the death could not be found.
    In December of 1992 the Aberdeen Area Infant Mortality Study was initiated to find out why Northern Plains Indian infants are at greater risk for dying of SIDS. The study was a collaborative effort of the Tribal Chairmen's Health Board, the Indian Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The study investigated 65 infant deaths between December 1, 1992 and November 30, 1996, and compared them with 130 living control infants.
    The results of the Aberdeen Area Infant Mortality Study serve to highlight areas of family health that could be improved. This report contains concrete recommendations to reduce the risk of infant mortality and SIDS. It also contains suggested paths of future policy and action that may be of use to the tribal communities of the Northern Plains.
    Because of the importance that this study has for the prevention of future infant deaths, the Aberdeen Area Tribal Chairmen's Health Board passed as resolution allowing the study to be shared with others.
    "This report may spare many parents the heartbreak of losing a child to SIDS," said Dr. Charles Grim, the Interim Director of the Indian Health Service. "There will be many who will benefit from the decision of the Aberdeen Area Tribes to share this important report with others. With gratitude and respect, the Indian Health Service is honored to make this report available through our website."

    For a copy of the Report: "I will never forget my child," click here.
    For an IHS Fact Sheet on SIDS in Indian Country, click here.
    For a copy of the Aberdeen Area Tribal Tribal Chairmen's Health Board Resolution, click here.
    To visit the website of CJ Foundation for SIDS, who have provided grants to Indian Country for programs to help eliminate SIDS, go to http://www.cjsids.com, or click here.