 |
         
|
Unlike diabetes, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is newsworthy not because it afflicts millions but because it is so heartbreaking for those families it does afflict. CBS anchor Katie Couric really did not have to make SIDS seem more prevalent than it is by stating the technically true but misleading statistic "thousands of babies die in their sleep every year." Sure, the total--2200--is a plural of thousand but common usage prefers a phrase like "a couple of thousand" for such a low four-figure number.
Anyway the study that CBS' in-house physician Jon LaPook and ABC's John McKenzie (subscription required) covered in his A Closer Look was interesting enough even with only a handful of babies' lives at issue. A study of 31 SIDS babies found that they all had defective hearing in their right inner ear, "four points lower across three different frequencies," according to ABC's McKenzie. LaPook theorized that the inner ear may regulate normal breathing and since ear screening tests are already routine for all newborns "we now have the opportunity to follow a large number of children from birth to see if SIDS cannot only be predicted--but ultimately prevented."
You must be logged in to this website to leave a comment. Please click here to log in so you can participate in the discussion.
