Barbara Ostfeld, PhD

I am program director of the SIDS Center of New Jersey, which I helped establish in 1987 with ongoing support from the NJ Department of Health. My research on sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) contributed to the risk reduction policies of the American Academy of Pediatrics. In association with the novel public health initiatives of the SIDS Center, which have become models for other centers, NJ’s SUID rate is among the lowest in the US.  I serve on the SIDS Autopsy Protocol Committee of the Office of the NJ State Medical Examiner and as a research partner of the Aaron Matthew SIDS Research Foundation.  Over the course of my career, my support has included an NICHD RO1 grant (on improving developmental outcomes for preterm infants). My current interests include vaping as a delivery mechanism for nicotine, a risk factor for SIDS, and I recently co-authored an article on a potential causal mechanism underlying many SUID risk factors. Previously I also served on the national MCHB expert leadership group on SIDS and the SUID Investigation Subcommittee of the NJ Child Fatality Review Board. For my work, I was honored by the March of Dimes (NJ Chapter) and named a Champion for Children by the NJ Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Apart from SUID, my activities included serving as program director of the High-Risk Infant Follow-up Program at RWJUH (2003-2015).

New York University: University College of Arts and Sciences   BA Psychology 1965  (Phi Beta Kappa)
Rutgers University: Graduate School of Arts and Sciences  MS  Psychology 1967    
Rutgers University: Graduate School of Arts and Sciences  PhD  Psychology 1969
Postdoctoral Training: Children’s Psychiatric Center, Eatontown, NJ 1971-1972; 1975-1978
 

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, behavioral epidemiology, disparities in adverse social and health determinants.

Hegyi T, Ostfeld BM. Reducing the risk of sudden unexpected infant death: the caffeine hypothesis. J Perinatol. 2025 Nov;45(11):1644-1648. doi: 10.1038/s41372-025-02333-x. Epub 2025 Jun 10. PMID: 40494910; PMCID: PMC12660142.

Hall EM, Forman S, Ostfeld BM, Shahidullah JD. Doula support for perinatal mental health needs: Perspectives on training and practice. Midwifery. 2025 Feb;141:104275. doi: 10.1016/j.midw.2024.104275. Epub 2024 Dec 20. PMID: 39721226.

Hegyi T, Hauck FR, Goodstein M, Ostfeld BM. Reader Response: Video Analyses of Sudden Unexplained Deaths in Toddlers. Neurology. 2024 Aug 13;103(3):e209344. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000209344. Epub 2024 Jul 17. PMID: 39018521.

Ostfeld BM, Schwartz-Soicher O, Reichman NE, Hegyi T. Racial differences in the impact of maternal smoking on sudden unexpected infant death. J Perinatol. 2023 Mar;43(3):345-349. doi: 10.1038/s41372-022-01516-0PMID: 36271297; PMCID: PMC9589613.

Hegyi T, Ostfeld BM. Sudden unexpected infant death risk profiles in the first month of life. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2022 Dec;35(26):10444-10450. doi: 10.1080/14767058.2022.2128662. PMID: 36195459.
 

2013    Honor: Improving the Health of Babies (March of Dimes, NJ Chapter) 

2015    Commendation, Making a Difference (Russell Berrie Foundation)

2017    Risk Reduction Advocacy Award (Keeping Babies Safe Foundation)

2018    Public Health Innovation Award (for creation of a public health app, NJ Department of Health)

2020    Champion for Children Award (American Academy of Pediatrics, NJ Chapter)