On April 13, 2000 I learned about SAD from the MISS website. I was so happy that I had finally found someone who was doing research on stillborn babies. I immediately emailed Dr. Collins and offered my medical records & my son's autopsy results. He replied that he was interested and ask that I call him. Naturally, I called and was amazed that he was located in New Orleans LA. Glenn and I would be leaving for a weeks vacation in just 4 days for New Orleans. Dr.Collins was very excited that we would be visiting his city. Dr,Collins picked up up at our hotel, and treated us to a wonderful breakfast at Brennan's Restaurant. Then he took us on a guided tour of the French Quarter and the Garden District. He is a text book definition of Southern Hospitality, not to mention probably one of the most interesting men I have ever met. He was very excited to learn that Glenn works for General Electric. He has been trying to connect with GE for some time now. He hopes to have GE design an ultrasound machine that will be able to detect the cord wrapped around babies. His big plan is to redesign the standard delivery room with the technology to deliver healthy babies, every time. Miraculously Glenn has met the big cheese at GE Medical Divisions and might have an "in". ( My contact at Medical Systems did check into it with the Technology and Business Development teams. Unfortunately, GE isn't interested...2001) The morning after our breakfast, Dr. Collins called us at our hotel. He had studied our medical records. He was able to answer all of my questions. He was the first and only doctor who could tell me or admit that my son was stillborn due to cord compression. Dr.Collins hopes that some day all pregnant women will have a take home monitor to use while they sleep. He also hopes that all women will be monitored at their monthly visits on a fetal monitor. It is truly amazing that over 39,000 babies are stillborn every year in the United States alone. This number is ten times greater than the loss of babies due to SIDS every year. It is even more amazing that our Government does not give one single penny to medical research funding. . Joanne Cacciatore at MISS and Dr.Collins are the original founders of S.A.D. MISS has sent letters to more than 1,000 medical journals, t.v. shows, radio stations, and clinics, unfortunately the response to the first "media run" was less than magnificent. We feel that together we can make a difference. Perhaps, if we make some noise and get the acronym "S.A.D." out, someone will eventually hear us . If you want to help, please write to your local representative, state congressman and senator. Please feel free to copy all or part of my letter. The letter can even be as simple as a post card. You may or may not choose to personalize it. You can obtain your senator's Washington DC address below. You can also email your senator and congressman from the address below. We recommend contacting both ways or as many ways as possible. Sincerely, Gina Johnson |
S.A.D. Syndrome: The last great mystery of obstetrics "Normal babies are dying needlessly during maternal sleep," says Jason M. Collins, M.D, "and I truly believe that half these babies don't have to die." Dr. Collins is an obstetrician of twenty years and has been researching Sudden Antenatal Death (S.A.D.) Syndrome for a decade. More than 39,000 babies are stillborn in the United States every year. Research by the Pregnancy Institute indicates that S.A.D. Syndrome secondary to umbilical cord accidents of full term infants accounts for more than 4,000 of these deaths. Yet the cause of another 50-60% of the 39,000 stillborn babies is unknown. "This is a devastating event because the babies are normal but died," says Collins. The autopsy findings on S.A.D. babies usually result in a diagnosis of undeterminable, leaving the family with many unanswered questions. Dr. Collins has interviewed more than 300 S.A.D. families in his research. The research has indicated a succinct pattern resulting in his working theory that S.A.D. Syndrome may be related to fetal-maternal sleep and its effects on a baby in utero. S.A.D. can also affect infants during childbirth and in the early postpartum period. Collins points out that his research is likely to reveal many enigmas associated with early stillbirth and S.A.D. Syndrome. For more information on S.A.D. Syndrome, contact the Pregnancy Institute at 504-649-0492 www.preginst.com. |
S.A.D. Syndrome: The last great mystery of obstetrics "Normal babies are dying needlessly during maternal sleep," says Jason M. Collins, M.D, "and I truly believe that half these babies don't have to die." Dr. Collins is an obstetrician of twenty years and has been researching Sudden Antenatal Death (S.A.D.) Syndrome for a decade. More than 39,000 babies are stillborn in the United States every year. Research by the Pregnancy Institute indicates that S.A.D. Syndrome secondary to umbilical cord accidents of full term infants accounts for more than 4,000 of these deaths. Yet the cause of another 50-60% of the 39,000 stillborn babies is unknown. "This is a devastating event because the babies are normal but died," says Collins. The autopsy findings on S.A.D. babies usually result in a diagnosis of undeterminable, leaving the family with many unanswered questions. Dr. Collins has interviewed more than 300 S.A.D. families in his research. The research has indicated a succinct pattern resulting in his working theory that S.A.D. Syndrome may be related to fetal-maternal sleep and its effects on a baby in utero. S.A.D. can also affect infants during childbirth and in the early postpartum period. Collins points out that his research is likely to reveal many enigmas associated with early stillbirth and S.A.D. Syndrome. For more information on S.A.D. Syndrome, contact the Pregnancy Institute at 504-649-0492 www.preginst.com. |
On April 13, 2000 I learned about SAD from the MISS website. I was so happy that I had finally found someone who was doing research on stillborn babies. I immediately emailed Dr. Collins and offered my medical records & my son's autopsy results. He replied that he was interested and ask that I call him. Naturally, I called and was amazed that he was located in New Orleans LA. Glenn and I would be leaving for a weeks vacation in just 4 days for New Orleans. Dr.Collins was very excited that we would be visiting his city. Dr,Collins picked up up at our hotel, and treated us to a wonderful breakfast at Brennan's Restaurant. Then he took us on a guided tour of the French Quarter and the Garden District. He is a text book definition of Southern Hospitality, not to mention probably one of the most interesting men I have ever met. He was very excited to learn that Glenn works for General Electric. He has been trying to connect with GE for some time now. He hopes to have GE design an ultrasound machine that will be able to detect the cord wrapped around babies. His big plan is to redesign the standard delivery room with the technology to deliver healthy babies, every time. Miraculously Glenn has met the big cheese at GE Medical Divisions and might have an "in". ( My contact at Medical Systems did check into it with the Technology and Business Development teams. Unfortunately, GE isn't interested...2001) The morning after our breakfast, Dr. Collins called us at our hotel. He had studied our medical records. He was able to answer all of my questions. He was the first and only doctor who could tell me or admit that my son was stillborn due to cord compression. Dr.Collins hopes that some day all pregnant women will have a take home monitor to use while they sleep. He also hopes that all women will be monitored at their monthly visits on a fetal monitor. It is truly amazing that over 39,000 babies are stillborn every year in the United States alone. This number is ten times greater than the loss of babies due to SIDS every year. It is even more amazing that our Government does not give one single penny to medical research funding. . Joanne Cacciatore at MISS and Dr.Collins are the original founders of S.A.D. MISS has sent letters to more than 1,000 medical journals, t.v. shows, radio stations, and clinics, unfortunately the response to the first "media run" was less than magnificent. We feel that together we can make a difference. Perhaps, if we make some noise and get the acronym "S.A.D." out, someone will eventually hear us . If you want to help, please write to your local representative, state congressman and senator. Please feel free to copy all or part of my letter. The letter can even be as simple as a post card. You may or may not choose to personalize it. You can obtain your senator's Washington DC address below. You can also email your senator and congressman from the address below. We recommend contacting both ways or as many ways as possible. Sincerely, Gina Johnson |
Sample Letter: your name address city, state, zip date The Honorable (fill in your representative's name) United States Senator address city, state, zip Dear Senator (name): Thirty nine thousand babies are stillborn every year in the United States. The number of stillborn babies is ten times greater than those lost to SIDS, annually. I am deeply, and personally, concerned about the lack of research being done on stillbirths. On November 28, 1999, my son Phillip Thomas Johnson was stillborn. I was devastated when told simply, "It just happens. We don't know why." I will not accept this answer and hope no other woman has to suffer the loss of a child from stillbirth, when preventive measures are available. (please replace this paragraph with your own personal spin about yourself, a friend, relative or someone you have heard about.) Dr. Jason Collins in Slidell, LA, has been studying stillbirths for fifteen years. To date, however, he has been unable to obtain any government support for this critical research. I also understand that no other research on stillbirths is being funded by the federal government to date. This letter is to ask that you and other members of Congress help provide funding for medical research on stillbirths, so this tragic loss of life can be prevented. With your help, the crucial, life-saving research needed in this area can be undertaken by others and further developed by those currently working in this area. Sincerely, (your name) |
