CHUBBUCK — An Idaho native who lost her firstborn to sudden infant death syndrome in 2014 has been named Mrs. Idaho Petite 2020 and plans to use the platform it gives her to spread awareness of what can be done to help prevent SIDS.

Mariah Hopkins, 24, of Chubbuck, says it's an important effort.

“This is something I decided to advocate for the moment it happened,” said Hopkins, who was 18 when she lost her first son. “At the time, I was still very young and was unaware how (to do so).”

So when she received her title, which goes to women who are 5-foot, 6-inches and under, she teamed with www.nwsids.org to take an educational infant safe sleep course and volunteered to help anyone that has gone through a similar tragedy.

Hopkins, who now has three kids with husband, Matthew Hopkins, has worked with Liz Montgomery, the director of the Inland Northwest Infant SIDS-SUID Alliance Foundation to further her efforts.

SUID — or sudden unexpected infant death — is the loss of a baby under age 1 in which the cause wasn't obvious before investigation, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The SUID category includes SIDS.

Overall, about 3,600 babies in the United States die suddenly and unexpectedly each year, according to the CDC.

To help address the issue, Hopkins plans to compete in the national USA Petite pageant in Chicago in March 2021.

Hopkins, who is 5-foot, 6-inches tall, said the event was supposed to happen in late September but had to be delayed to March 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

But she's OK with that.

“Although I have to wait a few months to compete, I'm not necessarily upset about it because now I have that extra time to hopefully raise more funds for travel and wardrobe and gain more knowledge of pageantry,” Hopkins said.

She says that pageantry is expensive to the point that it surprised her and she was unprepared for that aspect of competing. Just the entry fee for the event is around $700.

She says she has a link on her Facebook page for anyone who wants to donate to help defray her costs at: gofundme.com/f/usa-petite-expenses.

She also hopes to receive funds from sponsors and businesses, in addition to individuals.

Businesses can even receive their own ad page on usapetite.com for helping sponsor her efforts, she said.

“Even if you can't donate, that's OK,” Hopkins said. “I'm just so happy to even be in this situation.”

She says she's also stoked to represent her home state and is beyond honored to be reigning as Mrs. Idaho Petite 2020.

“2020 was such a hard year for everyone unfortunately, but I'm very excited to turn things around and bring positivity,” Hopkins said.

Meanwhile, the national USA Petite pageant was founded in 2009.

It offers four divisions: Teen, Miss, Ms. and Mrs. across the U.S., she said.

“We still need a Ms. Idaho so I'm really hoping someone will step up to apply,” Hopkins said.

The USA Petite pageant is the official preliminary to the Universal Petite Pageant in which petite women from all over the world compete for the titles of Teen and Miss Universal Petite, Hopkins said.

“It kind of gives us all a chance to walk the stage,” Hopkins said.

She first got the idea to compete when she saw an advertisement for the event.

“I was just curious and thought, 'Why not? I'll apply,' not thinking I'd get chosen,” she said.

She says each queen has their own platform that they want to bring awareness to.

Hopkins and husband, Matthew, and their family of three kids plan to go to Chicago in March when she represents Idaho in the national USA Petite competition.

She said she was 18 when she lost her son, Bentley Hopkins, to SIDS. But she had a lot of family nearby that supported her. That helped get through the shock.

And she still hears from a lot of people who empathize with her.

“I get it all the time, 'it must be so hard I cannot imagine,'” she said.

She says it helps to hear that because when a traumatic experience happens and people witness you getting through it and remaining positive, they will be able to get through it as well.

“I've gotten to the point where I can talk about it without breaking down and I think a lot of people need that,” Hopkins said.

The issue is one that affects many people, according to the CDC.

SIDS is the leading cause of death among infants 1 month to 12 months old and is the third-leading cause overall of infant mortality in the United States, according to the CDC.

In 2018, there were about 1,300 infant deaths in the U.S. due to SIDS, about 1,300 deaths due to unknown causes, and about 800 deaths due to accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed, according to the CDC.

So the CDC recommends health care professionals do the following to promote safe sleep:

Advise caregivers to place babies on their back for every sleep period; keep soft bedding such as blankets, pillows and other soft objects out of the baby's sleep area; and share a room — but not a bed — with their babies.