Sharon C Hitchcock

Interests

Research

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), safe infant sleep, sudden unexpected infant death prevention, infant safety

Teaching

Obstetrics, ethics, leadership

Courses

Scholarly Contributions

Chapters

• Hitchcock, S. C. (2021). Physiological and behavioral responses of the neonate. In Maternal-newborn nursing: Critical components of nursing care(pp 441-504). F.A Davis.

Journals/Publications

• Hitchcock, S. C. (2023). What more can we do to prevent infants from dying while they sleep?. Nursing for Women's Health, 27(6), 448-456. doi:10.1016/j.nwh.2023.07.004
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  CNE article reviewing latest recommendations and efforts to prevent sudden unexpected deaths and current thoughts controversies surrounding breastfeeding and bedsharing.
• Hitchcock, S. C. (2022). Coming soon! New rules for infant sleep products. Healthy Mom&Baby, 32, 39-40.
• Hitchcock, S. C. (2022). What's with all the crying? - Coping with a fussy infant when nothing seems to work. Healthy Mom & Baby, 32, 44-45.
• Hitchcock, S. C. (2022). What's with all the crying? Coping with a fussy baby when nothing seems to work. Healthy Mom&Baby.
• Hitchcock, S. C., & Hibbs, A. (2022). Hepatitis B vaccine starting at birth: What's the rush?. Healthy Mom&Baby, 33, 44-45.
• Hitchcock, S. C. (2021). Infant sleep safety: Babies need their own space. Healthy Mom&Baby, 30, 61-62.
• Hitchcock, S. C. (2020). 15 Safe Sleep Tips for Baby. Healthy Mom & Baby (AWHONN's consumer magazine), 28, 57-58.
  More info

  Parent teaching infographic, online article and published in HMB magazine: https://www.health4mom.org/zones/healthy-mom-baby-magazine/https://www.health4mom.org/15-safe-sleep-tips-for-baby/
• Hitchcock, S. C., & Ruhl, C. (2018). Nurses leading safe infant sleep initiatives in the hospital setting. Nursing for Women's Health.
• Hitchcock, S. C., & Ruhl, C. (2019). Nurses leading safe infant sleep initiatives in the hospital setting. Nursing for Women's Health, 23(2), 148-162. doi:10.1016/j.nwh.2019.02.003
• Hitchcock, S. C. (2017). An Update on Safe Infant Sleep. Nursing for Women's Health, 21(4), 307-311. doi:10.1016/j.nwh.2017.06.007
• Hitchcock, S. C. (2017). What's New with Safe Infant Sleep?. Healthy Mom & Baby (AWHONN parenting magazine), 54-58.
  More info

  I was invited to write an "update" article for their parenting magazine to reflect the new safe sleep recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics. It was accepted in December of 2016 and published in the Spring 2017 issue. This magazine is published four times a year.
• Hitchcock, S. C., & Dugan, C. (2017). Safe Sleep Advice From Real Mothers. AWHONN Connections Blog Post.
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  In September 2017, I was asked by AWHONN if I could gather and lead a team of mothers/nurses in answering questions about safe infant sleep for their blog post (for SIDS Prevention month). The intent was to answer difficult questions about safe sleep from a very realistic viewpoint of other mothers knowledgable of the safe sleep recommendations. I found three people to interview and put together a 3300 word synthesis of the groups' comments. Courtney Duggan then used this interview to create the final blog post (2400 word).
• Hitchcock, S. C., Owen, K. M., & Young, L. J. (2013). Endorsing Safe Sleep: Helping Nurses Turn Recommendations Into Reality. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, 42, S31. doi:10.1111/1552-6909.12092
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  Newborn Care Poster Presentation Purpose for the Program Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is now considered preventable. Since 1992, the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) for SIDS prevention or safe sleep have been considered best practice. In 2011, AAP published an expanded list of safe sleep recommendations. Neonatal nurses are now being asked to endorse these strategies from the time of birth. Multiple studies have described inconsistent safe sleep practices among hospital nurses, which leads to confusion for parents. SIDS prevention efforts have been hindered by neonatal nurses' failure to model safe sleep behaviors and educate parents. Furthermore, some of the recommendations have been met with resistance, with other so‐called experts creating controversy and skepticism. This controversy has created significant barriers and added to the confusion for both nurses and parents, creating a difficult learning environment. The purpose of this program was to not only teach nurses the safe sleep recommendations, but to also address the controversy and provide answers to their concerns. Proposed Change The safe sleep program of this maternal–newborn unit was developed to educate and convince nursing staff that SIDS can be prevented. These nurses would then be prepared and motivated to convince parents of the need to follow the safe sleep recommendations. Implementation, Outcomes, and Evaluation This program was designed as a nursing competency that was slowly implemented over a 1‐year period, with the content broken into four modules. A pretest was given before the first module. After the first module, which was an overview of all the strategies, key unsafe sleep practices were identified and a list of nursing practices that needed to be modified was provided. In the months following, in‐depth information on each strategy was provided, resources were created to assist with the education of parents, and crib audits were performed to monitor progress. At the end of the year a post test showed marked improvement of nurses' knowledge and crib audits showed marked improvement of safe sleep behaviors modeled by nurses. Implications for Nursing Practice The United States and New Zealand have the highest rates of SIDS and other sleep‐related deaths among developed nations. Safe sleep recommendations are considered best practice, yet neonatal nurses have been slow to implement them. Working to break through the barriers and controversy with evidence and dialogue will move us toward a unified endorsement of the safe sleep recommendations.
• Hitchcock, S. C. (2012). Endorsing safe infant sleep: A call to action.. Nursing for Women's Health, 16(5), 386-96. doi:10.1111/j.1751-486x.2012.01762.x
  More info

  The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) safe sleep recommendations are considered best practice and are effective in preventing sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Yet studies have found that nurses' practice in newborn nurseries and neonatal intensive care units is often inconsistent with safe sleep recommendations. Such inconsistencies cause confusion and hinder SIDS prevention efforts. In 2011, the AAP added significant content to its 2005 safe sleep recommendations and neonatal nurses are now being asked to endorse the recommendations from birth. This article reviews the recommendations, examines barriers and controversies and offers suggestions for how an organization might initiate change and move toward a unified endorsement of safe sleep strategies.

Presentations

• Hitchcock, S. C. (2018, January). A Safe Sleep Update. Presentation for TMC nurses. Tucson, Arizona: Tucson Medical Center.
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  Presentation on safe infant sleep given to obstetrical nurses at TMC.
• Hitchcock, S. C. (2016, June). The Nurses Role in Safe Sleep Education. Meeting of the National Action Partnership to Promote Safe Sleep (NAPPSS) organization self-assessment team (subcommittee of NAPPSS). Online presentation: National Action Partnershipp to Promote Safe Sleep (NAPPSS).
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  This was a 30 minute presentation to help this subcommittee understand the challenges nurses face in educating parents on the topic of safe infant sleep.
• Hitchcock, S. C. (2016, September). Safe to Sleep®: The Latest Evidence-Based Resources for Nurses. Live nationwide webinar presentation for the National Institute of Health. Webinar: NIH-Eunice Kennedy Shiver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).
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  NIH webinar providing information on safe infant sleep prevention strategies and the new National Institute of Health curriculum for nurses. I was one of two speakers and discussed the curriculum and some of the newer research recommendations for nurses. Audience of 600.