By Kathy Chaffin
kchaffin@salisburypost.com
More than 70 people have pre-registered so far to attend Tuesday’s Child Well Being Community Roundtable on risk factors for infants, including co-sleeping with family members.
Rowan Social Services Director Sandra Wilkes said there is still plenty of room for additional people who want to attend the community roundtable, scheduled for 1 to 4 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church Fellowship Building. “I think we will have a good turnout,” she said.
Sponsored by the Department of Social Services, the annual roundtable will feature Dr. Sara Sinal of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center as the speaker.
Sinal will address the risks of co-sleeping; Shaken Baby Syndrome, a type of inflicted brain injury that occurs when a baby is shaken violently; and the Period of Purple Crying, which explains why it is normal for some babies to cry and offers parents advice on coping with non-stop infant crying.
She is a professor of pediatrics and family and community medicine and the medical director of the Child Medical Evaluation Team at Brenner Children’s Hospital.
The roundtable will include time for questions and discussion of the topics.
Social Services officials selected the topic for this year’s roundtable after a December 2008 state fatality review found co-sleeping to be a factor in the May 2, 2008 death of 8-month-old Emmanuel Campusano Jr.
Co-sleeping has also been cited as a factor in other child fatalities reviewed across the state.
Social Services staff have started a campaign to educate the public on crib safety and is accepting donations of cribs and proper bedding or money to buy them for parents unable to afford them. Anyone interested in donating is asked to call Jon Hunter, foster care and adoption recruiter/trainer for the department, at 704-216-7914.
People planning to attend the community roundtable are asked to pre-register on Monday by calling Kelley Williams at 704-216-8400 or Kelley.Williams@rowancountync.gov.
The First Methodist Church Fellowship Building is located at 217 S. Church St.Contact Kathy Chaffin at 704-797-7683.