Crib Life 2000: Why is this being ignored?!
by Kara L.C. Jones

It all started with an email from a reader who had heard our recent radio show. She mentioned something called antimony and how this poisonous gas might have links to unexplained SIDS cases and to unexplained autism in children. Being that we are a "grassroots" kind of organization here at KotaPress, I immediately wrote back and told her that I was interested in any information that might raise awareness about ways we might keep our children alive and healthy. She send me a link to a site called Crib Life 2000.

Let me say right off the bat that I have come to understand that there is quite a debate about the links between antimony and SIDS or antimony and autism. I understand that there are politics and economics and a whole bunch of other -ics involved. I understand that there are a lot of people who look at the awareness work of Crib Life 2000 and say it is a marketing ploy for the sale of "safe mattress covers." But I will say that if there is any question, if anyone has the slightest interested in having more comprehensive research done that might, in fact, save children's lives-- then, this information should be brought to light.

That said, how can I now calmly tell you how overwhelmed I am by the information available at Crib Life 2000? I CANNOT REMAIN CALM AT ALL!!! Granted the coat of anger that I still wear in my grieving process probably has a lot to do with my reaction, but this anger is on behalf of every parent in the world who does not know this information. Crib Life 2000 give us information and research and possible answers for preventing otherwise unexplained SIDS and unexplained autism, and yet the information and research is being virtually ignored here in the United States and in other places around the world! The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has ignored this research and instead issue statements suggesting that unexplained SIDS cases are caused by suffocation with a soft object. This causes SIDS deaths to be treated as CRIMES with the house or daycare treated as a crime scene, with the parents and care givers treated as criminals, with the trauma and grief of death compounded by legal issues that separate parents from one another, from other surviving sibilings, as well as criminal investigators preventing the bereaved parents from seeing and/or holding the child who has died!

WHY?????!!!!!!! Why is it impossible to believe that antimony which is a gas released by mold and mildew in crib mattresses can be what's poisoning these children? How can AAP and others around the world ignore possible links, not do more current research, ignore liver tissue and hair samples of dead children which show high concentrations of antimony? Why do people feel more comfortable treating bereaved parents and care givers as criminals rather than trying to find answers with more comprehensive, current research, looking at existing research, and raising awareness about possible preventions??? I do not understand!!!!!

Here's the thesis: Mildew and mold in mattress that have PVC in them react with to make antimony gasses that are toxic to our children, with that toxicity causing developmental delays and in some cases, death.

Yes, turning babies on their backs to sleep reduces risks of death, maybe because !HELLO! their little faces are then turned 180 degrees away from the gas fumes of antimony. Hmmm? Could that be why the Back to Sleep campaign has worked to reduce the death rate, but has not eradicated SIDS altogether? Babies are still dying with the diagnosis being SIDS. But the AAP and other organizations around the world seem unwilling to even consider this antimony possiblity. Unwilling to invest the time and money needed to provide safe mattresses or mattress covers, unwilling to confirm the research that has already been done, unwilling to do more, ongoing, comprehensive, current research, unwilling to even mention this risk to parents!!! But it's okay for bereaved parents to be treated as criminals upon the deaths of their children??? HELLLOOOOOO!!!!

It makes me so angry that I can't see straight. It's my hope that you will see straight to click thru to Crib Life 2000, to read their website, to pass on the information to other parents, to question your health care providers, government officials, and mattress manufactures! It certainly can't hurt anything to raise awareness and demand more research, can it? Even if it were to save only one child's life, I have to say I think it would be worth it-- HELLO, THAT COULD HAVE BEEN MY CHILD, OR COULD BE YOUR CHILD!

I have long been an advocated for Thanatology awareness which looks at the study of death and dying and then helps us to figure out what our ethical responsibilities are in caring for the bereaved. And now I'm taking this a step further and telling you that we need to care for parents before they become bereaved and GIVE THEM ALL THE POSSIBLE FACTS and WARNINGS THEY DESERVE IN ORDER TO KEEP THEIR CHILDREN ALIVE AND HEALTHY! And if you want to argue with me that this antimony link isn't a fact, then I'll tell you that we at the VERY least have an ethical responsibility to DO MORE RESEARCH because the AAP statement against the link has not convinced me!

Let's wake up and raise some awareness about this information. Start pestering our local government officials, medical providers, and awareness agencies to do more research, to look for more conclusive research answers, to get this information about possible risks out to parents around the world!!!!!

Crib Life 2000 - www.criblife2000.com

Dr. John Lee MD - http://www.johnleemd.net/articles/sids.html

Optimal Wellness Center - http://www.mercola.com/2001/aug/25/sids.htm

BabySaver - http://www.babysaver.org/cribdeathcause.htm

My Parent Time - http://www.myparentime.com/articles/article103d.shtml

YahooGroup about antimony/mercury & autism - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Autism-Mercury

Letter to Mothering Magazine - http://www.whitelotus.net/mothers.html

Cot Life 2000 - http://www.cotlife2000.com

NOTE: There are also plenty of resources out there who disagree with the link between antimony and SIDS. Many sites and articles say that research has been done to show there is no link. If you are in that camp, then you can do your own searches for that information-- try using Google and searching for "antimony SIDS"-- there are plenty of nay-sayers out there. But I will say this, from what I can see there is at least EQUAL amounts of research for and against this possible risk. So why can't there be MORE research done to find answers that are MORE conclusive?? This is my question!!

Author Biography
Kara lives and works on Vashon Island and continues to build KotaPress as a legacy for her son Dakota Jones who died March 11, 1999. Her poetry, narratives, and non-fiction articles have been published world wide, and she has begun to teach more and more writing process classes online and offline. Her Expanding Poetry class is now available online at CourseBridge.com, and you can register today at http://www.coursebridge.com/html/courses/writing/cbep01.asp

   
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