CONWAY, SC (WMBF) – Many people know October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but the month is also dedicated to another cause; spreading awareness for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS.
According to the Boston Children’s Hospital, 2,300 babies die from SIDS in the U.S. every year. In Horry County, a local mother has dedicated her life to raising awareness of the syndrome since she lost her son 36 years ago.
“My husband and I woke up and we were wondering why the baby hasn’t cried to wake us up,” said Latischa Estep. “He got up to check on the baby, and he found our son died.”
Estep will never forget the night of Nov. 29, 1984, when she found out her four-month-old, Jonathan, died while sleeping in his playpen.
“For hours and hours and hours, we didn’t know how our son died,” she said. “I’m pointing the finger at him, he’s pointing the finger at me. Did something happen? Act of God? We didn’t know.”
The doctors answered all those questions with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
At the time, Estep didn’t know what that meant, but she did know she couldn’t be the only one who lost a child in its sleep. She went on to found a group called “People for the Right to Know Why” to raise awareness.