Fines, death and petrol

*Potentially distressing post: the following post talks about the death of infants*

I haven't been writing much lately because I haven't had much to say. Things are very repetitive; eat, sleep, go to uni, go to work, go to the gym, do assignments and repeat.

The universe has been giving me a crash course in motoring responsibility this week. I got my first speeding fine on Monday, going 109km/hr on Eastlink (100km/hr limit). Hardly hooning but a somewhat expensive reminder that when you are driving at the same speed sitting in the same lane for 40 minutes, it is easy to lose track of your speed.

Today was a drainer. I didn't realise I was low on petrol until I was about to merge onto the Monash freeway. Thankfully I realised just in time, but finding a petrol station and getting back to where I started took an additional half an hour so I missed my morning class. 

I arrived at uni in time for my lecture which was about SUDI, SIDS and childhood trauma. SUDI is sudden unexpected death of an Infant, which is the unexpected sudden death of an infant resulting from any cause including asphyxia, homicide, death from a previously undiagnosed health condition or SIDS. SIDS is sudden infant death syndrome, which  where a baby dies and an autopsy cannot determine a cause. In most cases it occurs when a baby falls asleep in an inappropriate environment.

Inappropriate environments include soft mattresses in cots, soft toys or  bumpers in the cot, positioning a baby at the top of their cot instead of the bottom are all dangerous because babies can roll over and become trapped by toys or slip down under blankets and asphyxiate. Co-sleeping in the parental bed and sleeping on the couch with parents are also dangerous because of the potential for accidental asphyxia and crushing. 

Babies between 2-4 months are most at risk of SIDS and SUDI because they are able to roll onto their faces but have insufficient motor skills and head control to roll themselves back onto their backs. Simply rolling over onto a pillow can kill a baby, which is why firm sleeping surfaces free of any pillows or toys are the most safe.

It was an incredibly sobering lecture. It is hard to imagine something more awful than having your baby die unexpectedly. It was delivered well and way incredibly interesting, for example, I didn't know what SIDS does not involve respiratory or cardiac arrest.

The emergency service response to a 000 call to an incident of an infant death. In the past the paramedics would take the baby's body in the ambulance straight to the morgue with the parents following. Now the paramedics encourage grieving parents to spend time with their child and hold them. They are able to take their child in the ambulance, which takes them to the local hospital where a nurse is assigned to them. The nurse spends time with the parents in a private room and assists in taking photos, hand and foot prints of the baby and to help them say their goodbyes before the child is taken to the coroner's office. 

After that component, we were told about all the different ways in which trauma damages a child's development and how paramedics are about double as likely to develop post traumatic stress disorder. 

I am really glad I have a day off tomorrow.