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Show CRIB DEATHS: Medicine’s Hunt for the Baffling Baby Killer IHE SUNNY December day was so mild that Mrs. Sylvia Goldberg, a pleasantfaced Baltimore housewife, By BOB GAINES old daughter Suzanne out in ; f decided to puther eight-weekthe back yard. Aching Muscles You long to those pains, ven temporarily, until the cause is cleared up. For palliative, or temporary, pain reelty ‘s Pills. Famous for over 60 years DeWitt's Pillscontain an anafgesic to reduce pain and a very mild diuretic to help eliminate retained fluids thus flushit, outirritating jadder wastes. DeWitt's Pills often succeed where others By Mail From Family Weekly mae for delivery. Child Won't Pay Attention? wax impacted down mufBe She wrapped the child warmly,set her in her carriage under the kitchen window, and went back in the house. A half hour later, she returned to bring the baby in for her feeding. She opened the bunting and then cried out. Suzanne’s face was white, and she wasn’t breathing! ‘The next few hours arestill an anguished jumble in Mrs. Goldberg’s mind. A neighbor rushed over and gave Suzanne mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Then an ambulance arrived and took thelittle girl away. At the hospital, Mrs. Goldberg learned that Suzanne was dead. On Suzanne’s death certificate, the hospital used the words “interstitial pneumonitis.” But Mrs. Goldberg later learned that these words or the word i are f used on death certificates when doctors can’t explain why a child dies suddenly in his sleep. “Babies rarely suffocate in their blankets. As for ‘pneumonitis’ ”— Mrs. Goldberg shrugs bitterly—“my husband and I wondered what we had done wrong. Then we learned there is a disease called crib death which kills babies in their sleep.” Crib death. Today medicine recognizes this disease as the number-one killer of children during the first two years oflife. The disease is especially frightening because it strikes so quickly. One moment, a baby is smiling, happy; a few minutes later, the mother checks and discovers the infant has stopped breathing. Babies have died suddenly in their carriages, in doctors’ waiting rooms, even in their mothers’ arms. What is this mysterious killer? When Mrs. Goldberg’s daughter died (December, 1964), doctors knew little about the disease. But since then, scientists have turned their attention to it. While they still don’t have all the answers, dramatic advances are being made. Two Montana pathologists, Dr. Edwin Segard and Dr. Elmer Koneman, believe they have found a pattern after examining 54 autopsy reports. 12 Family Weekly, February 4, 1968 \ a he i ‘ This ‘mysterious disease kills more than 25,000 children every year. They found that 35 of the children had laryngotracheobronchitis (an infection or infl jon of the larynx and trachea). “Most of the deaths occurred after a mother had put an allegedly well child to bed,” says Doctor Segard. Other pathologists argue that many children suffer from this disease and recover so it cannot be considered the cause of crib death. Nor is the mechanism for the disease known and what causes it. But Dr. Koneman concludes, “We must accept that in some children, by whatever mechanism, the condition is lethal.” Other crib-death researchers like Dr. Bruce Beckwith of the Children’s Orthopedic Hospital, Seattle, Wash., believe we may be on the verge of a breakthrough. Currently completing a three-year study of infant deaths in the Seattle area he is one of the growing body of researchers who believes crib deaths may be traceable to viruses. At one time or another, medical scientists have blamed the disease on everything from defective adrenal or thymus glands to a~ overreaction to cow’s milk. But the evidence supporting the gland theory was insufficient, and doctors noticed that breast-fed babies seem to be as vulnerable to crib death as babies given cow’s milk. The discovery of certain viruses in the tissues of some crib-death victims set Doctor Beckwith and others on the virus track. “The problem is a complicated one because this may not be just one virus,” says Doctor Beckwith. “It might be a combination of viruses, and it is possible that different children wil! react in different ways to the combination. Some may get a running nose. Others may be so vulnerable that the virus almost literally explodes in them, and they die.” As with most mysteries, researchers have an intriguing body of clues to mull over. They know that the disease primarily attacks infants between two months and two years. After that, children resist it. Most of the deaths take place in winter and early spring. And while the disease strikes children on every economic level, infants in poor families living in crowded rooms seem especially vulnerable. Doctor Beckwith concludes: “It attacks like a virus. And we know from autopsies that certain changes have taken place in the heart and lungs of some victims, which are similar to changes produced by virus attacks. Our job now is to pin down the virus, if viruses are the cause, and then develop an effective vaccine. “There is no doubt in my mind that we will solve the mystery. Our job is to do it soon because babies are dying, and that’s intolerable.” Anotherofthe leading researchers on crib deaths is Dr. James Patrick of the Children’s Hospital of the District of Columbia. Doctor Patrick is currently conducting an intense study in Washington. “The problem in advising parents about crib deaths is thet you needlessly alarm them,” he told FAMILY WEEKLY. “Wedon’t have a cure. “1 usually recommend the parent follow normal precautions. Don’t expose the baby to harsh weather. Keep his crib away from drafts. Give him special care if he hag the sniffles. Don’t let him come into contact with people who have respiratory illnesses such as colds or the flu. “But this is a ticklish problem. You can’t treat a baby as if he were a laboratory specimen. No one does. If friends or relatives come over to see the new baby, the average mother isn’t going to check them cut on respiratoryillnesses. “My most important warning is not to become obsessed with crib deaths. Some parents go overboard. By being too careful, you can make the baby neurotic.” @ |