SIDS Fast Facts
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It has often been said that there is no pain greater for parents than outliving their children. When the child is barely a year old, that pain can be even more devastating. That is why so much effort goes into educating new parents about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
Here is some information on the syndrome every parent should know:
* SIDS is the leading cause of death among infants who are 1 month to 1-year-old, and claims the lives of about 2,500 infants each year in the United States. Since it is often linked to sleep, SIDS is also known by the name "crib death." The sudden nature of the death and the apparent lack of suffering in an otherwise healthy looking infant add to the mystery.
* African-American babies are twice as likely, and Native American babies are three times as likely, to die of SIDS than Caucasian babies. Boys have a higher incidence than girls.
* Following the Back to Sleep motto will help. Since the 1992 American Academy of Pediatrics' (AAP) recommendation to put children under the age of one to sleep on their backs, SIDS has dropped by 50 percent. Doctors believe stomach sleeping may put pressure on the jaw that restricts airflow, or cause rebreathing of expelled air. Once the child is able to comfortably roll from back to front (4 to 7 months old), he or she can likely choose his or her own sleeping position.
* Do not over-bundle the baby for sleep. Keep the room cool and comfortable. Overheating contributes to SIDS since some researchers suggest that a baby who gets too warm could go into a deeper sleep, making it more difficult to awaken.
* Infants who succumb to SIDS may have an abnormality in the arcuate nucleus, a part of the brain that may help control breathing and awakening during sleep. In children without the abnormality, breathing in stale air, resulting in not enough oxygen to the brain would trigger the infant to awaken. But a problem with the arcuate nucleus could deprive the baby of this involuntary reaction and put him or her at greater risk for SIDS.