Sudden infant death is the sudden unexplained death of an infant under one year of age in circumstances related to sleep. It is the most common cause of death for babies between one month and one year of age. For many years, Aboriginal residents have experienced significantly higher rates of both overall infant mortality and sudden infant death. An Aboriginal Safe Sleep Working Group has been formed to design and deliver a training initiative for Aboriginal communities throughout BC. This session will focus on explaining what sudden infant death is (and isn’t), risk and protective factors, and some cultural perspective on the problem.
SIDS and Safe Sleep through an Aboriginal Lens- Protecting our Children
About the Speakers
Lucy Barney, Provincial Lead, Perinatal Services BC, Provincial Health Services Association.
Lucy is from the Lillooet First Nation. She received her Master’s of Science in Nursing from UBC in 2005. Lucy specializes in Aboriginal health and has worked in diabetes, HIV/AIDS and STIs as manager and educator for Aboriginal people in BC. Lucy has been awarded the Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS for innovative programming and the Community Service Award in Health from Langara College. Lucy’s interests are health promotion and prevention.
Tansey Ramanzin, Medical reviewer and Coroner, Child Death Review Unit, BC Coroners Service
Tansey graduated from Nursing in1983. She spent almost two decades working at BC Children’s Hospital before moving into the postgraduate specially nursing program at BCIT, where she taught for five years. Tansey joined the Child Death Review Unit of the BC Coroners Service in 2007, where she is committed to reducing the number of child deaths in BC, and reducing inequities in health outcomes.
