SIDS Center of New Jersey

10/27/2026

📢 Join Us Tomorrow for Our Final SIDS Awareness Month Webinar!

💙 A Conversation with the Medical Director of the SIDS Center of New Jersey

Join us for an informative and engaging conversation with Thomas Hegyi, MD, Medical Director of the SIDS Center of New Jersey (SCNJ).

This special session offers an opportunity to hear directly from Dr. Hegyi, explore important topics related to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID), and gain insights into infant safe sleep and risk reduction.

📅 Wednesday, October 28, 2026
⏰ 12:00 PM ET
👨‍⚕️ Presenter: Thomas Hegyi, MD
💻 Register here:
https://rutgers.webex.com/weblink/register/r5fbddba6feb9a0c6bddd996b80b5d4e4

Don't miss this opportunity to learn from the Medical Director of SCNJ as we conclude our SIDS Awareness Month 2026 webinar series!

All participants will receive a Certificate of Participation and SCNJ resources.

10/19/2026

📢 Upcoming Webinar Reminder | Webinar Wednesdays

Join the SIDS Center of New Jersey on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, for our next educational webinar in recognition of SIDS Awareness Month!

Safe Infant Sleep: Reducing the Risk of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death from Birth to 12 Months

🎤 Presenter:
Ariana Nuñez-Restituyo, MPH
Health Education & Social Media Manager, SCNJ
Adjunct Instructor, RWJMS

📅 Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2026
🕛 Time: 12:00 PM ET

Learn about SIDS, SUID, and the latest American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) safe sleep recommendations for the first year of life. Review examples of unsafe or recalled infant sleep products and learn practical ways to educate families. Test your knowledge with an interactive activity and explore free SCNJ resources to support safe sleep education in your community.

We encourage healthcare professionals, community partners, caregivers, and anyone interested in promoting infant safe sleep to attend!

🔗 Register today:
https://rutgers.webex.com/weblink/register/r8db3bb463fafab7b24675f9b271477ff

10/16/2026

Dear Families,

We hope you found comfort in last night's Wave of Light. Thank you to the families who shared their pictures and videos.

As Halloween approaches, we want to acknowledge the unique challenges grieving parents face during this time. Decorations featuring death, gore, and fear can be especially difficult for parents whose children have died.

In the initial years of grieving, and even after that period, you might find yourself more sensitive to these decorations than you would typically be. This heightened sensitivity is a common response given the trauma you have experienced. Below are some articles that may provide helpful insights:

Grieving Siblings and Halloween-https://www.dougy.org/resource-articles/fears-and-halloween

Grieving Students and Halloween - https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/supporting-children-through-crisis-and-loss/201810/ever-consider-halloween-grief-trigger

The link below is a quick read validating how hard Halloween can be for grieving families.

https://stillstandingmag.com/2019/10/29/this-halloween-is-it-fun-to-pretend-your-child-has-died-because-mine-really-did/?fbclid=IwAR3ikfLNeOc_H43u8ymt-eGYoN-97snB5eIhHWxuqayc4cOtInGTPgl3IFc

Remembering your sweet children.

We're always here for you.

The SCNJ Staff

10/12/2026

📢 Webinar Wednesday Reminder!

Join the SIDS Center of New Jersey this Wednesday for the second presentation in our SIDS Awareness Month Webinar Wednesday series.

🕊️ A Child Dies: A Portrait of Family Grief

Coauthor of A Child Dies: A Portrait of Family Grief
Winner of the 1994 American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award

Through an exploratory discussion, enhanced with selected works of art and poetry, this program will consider the dimensions of grief on the sudden death of an infant. The complexities and profound nature of grief for parents, family members, and caregivers will be considered.

📅 Wednesday, October 14, 2026
🕛 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM ET
Registration: https://rutgers.webex.com/weblink/register/r1ec291a1b7339687306005548434af9b

10/09/2026

October is Safe Sleep and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Awareness Month.

Exposure to secondhand and thirdhand smoke greatly increases the risk of SIDS.

Quitting smoking is one way to help protect your baby and support a healthier future for your family.

To learn more about SIDS and get support, visit SIDS Center of New Jersey at https://rwjms.rutgers.edu/department/pediatrics/sids-center or call 800-545-7437.

For free quit support, visit https://www.njquitline.org or call 1-866-NJ-STOPS.

10/09/2026

💙 Collaborating to Reduce the Risk of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID)

In recognition of SIDS Awareness Month, the SIDS Center of New Jersey is proud to collaborate with the Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern NJ, Central Jersey Family Health Consortium, and the Southern New Jersey Perinatal Cooperative to offer a FREE on-demand webinar:

Reducing the Risk of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death: A Guide for Healthcare Providers

Presented by Dr. Barbara M. Ostfeld, Program Director of the SIDS Center of New Jersey and Professor of Pediatrics at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, this educational program provides nurses and other healthcare professionals with updated guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics on safe infant sleep practices.

Participants will learn to:
✅ Define Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID)
✅ Identify established risk factors
✅ Describe evidence-based practices to reduce the risk of SIDS and other sleep-related infant deaths

📅 Available now through May 25, 2028

🎓 1.0 nursing continuing education contact hour available

💻 Free registration: https://pmch.teachable.com/p/suid-for-healthcare-providers26

Speaker: Barbara M. Ostfeld, Ph.D. Professor of Pediatrics at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School - Rutgers University and Program Director of the SIDS Center of New Jersey

10/05/2026

Join the SIDS Center of New Jersey for the first webinar in our SIDS Awareness Month Webinar Wednesday Series.

On Wednesday, October 7, 2026 at 12:00 PM, Tracey Koplick, MSN, RN, CCRN, Clinical Nurse Specialist, will present:

A Quality Improvement Project to Improve Safe Infant Sleep Practices in the NICU

This presentation will highlight a quality improvement initiative focused on strengthening safe infant sleep practices in the NICU and supporting education related to SIDS and SUID risk reduction.

📅 Wednesday, October 7, 2026
🕛 12:00 PM
🔗 Register here: https://rutgers.webex.com/weblink/register/r519d0b57a50c01755a638e24aec0cde0

We encourage healthcare professionals, community partners, educators, and others who support infants and families to join us.

10/05/2026

October is SIDS Awareness Month 💙

We are honored to share that Governor Mikie Sherrill has proclaimed October 2026 as SIDS Awareness Month in the State of New Jersey.

This proclamation recognizes the importance of continued education, awareness, research, and collaboration to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and other sleep-related infant deaths.

It also acknowledges the vital role of healthcare professionals, child care providers, families, and community partners in helping create safer sleep environments for every baby.

Throughout October, the SIDS Center of New Jersey will be sharing safe infant sleep information, educational resources, and opportunities to learn more about reducing the risk of SUID and supporting families.

Together, we can continue spreading awareness, sharing evidence-based information, and helping every baby sleep as safely as possible. 💙

10/01/2026

Dear SCNJ Families,

Thinking of you as we enter October, which is recognized nationally as SIDS Awareness Month.

On Wednesday, October 15, the world will observe Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day—a time dedicated to honoring the memory of the pregnancies and infants we have lost. To mark this significant day, we invite you to participate in the global "Wave of Light."

At 7:00 p.m. in your local time zone, light a candle and leave it burning for one hour. As the hour passes, the light moves to the next time zone, creating a continuous, 24-hour chain of illumination that encircles the globe. This beautiful tradition serves as a shared symbol of love and remembrance for the precious children who are no longer with us.

Please know that we are always here to support you, and we will be lighting our candles alongside you.

09/29/2026

💙 October is almost here — and so is SIDS Awareness Month.

Throughout October, the SIDS Center of New Jersey will be sharing education, resources, and practical information to help families, caregivers, and professionals learn more about SIDS, SUID, and ways to reduce the risk of sleep-related infant deaths.

We’re also excited to bring back our Webinar Wednesdays series throughout the month, featuring important conversations on infant safety, grief, SUID risk reduction, and more.

📅 Save the dates and join us this October!

Check out our Webinar Wednesdays schedule and follow along all month as we raise awareness, share resources, and support safer sleep for every baby.

Webinar Series Registration: (To register for multiple presentations at once) https://rutgers.webex.com/webappng/sites/rutgers/webinar/webinarSeries/register/9451d5ac4ff2479685aff3e3f56204c5

October 7, 2026 at 12:00 PM
Presenter: Tracey Koplick, MSN, RN, CCRN
Presentation: A Quality Improvement Project to Improve Safe Infant Sleep Practices
Registration:
https://rutgers.webex.com/weblink/register/r519d0b57a50c01755a638e24aec0cde0

October 14, 2026 at 12:00 PM
Presenter: Joan Arnold, PhD, RN
Presentation: A Child Dies: A Portrait of Family Grief
Registration:
https://rutgers.webex.com/weblink/register/r1ec291a1b7339687306005548434af9b

October 21, 2026 at 12:00 PM
Presenter: Ariana Nuñez-Restituyo, MPH
Presentation: Safe Infant Sleep: Reducing the Risk of SUID from Birth to 12 Months
Registration:
https://rutgers.webex.com/weblink/register/r8db3bb463fafab7b24675f9b271477ff

October 28, 2026 at 12:00 PM
Presenter: Thomas Hegyi, MD
Presentation: A Conversation with the Medical Director of the SIDS Center of NJ
Registration:
https://rutgers.webex.com/weblink/register/r5fbddba6feb9a0c6bddd996b80b5d4e4