by JT Till

Created on: August 30, 2008   Last Updated: November 29, 2010

Understanding Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is difficult even in today’s world of new and ever growing technologies. What we do understand is this is an excruciatingly sad experience happening to infants all over the world.

 In the U.S. alone, 2500 infants a year between the ages of one month and one year old succumb to this tragedy known as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS. It is the leading cause of death of infants in this age group.

Even today, there is still no specific medical reason to explain why this still happens. A coroner will only assign SIDS as the cause of death when no other medical reason can be found. While the number of infants dying from SIDS has decreased since the 1990's, it's misleading because doctors, now due to increased autopsy medicine, are able to put the correct cause of death on autopsies. Before, many times the cause would have been unknown and SIDS was assigned.

While the direct cause of SIDS is still unknown, doctors have come up with a few ways to help prevent this from happening. First and foremost would be the preventive measures to take while you are pregnant.

*Don't drink or smoke. Both of these could hurt your baby's birth weight which in turn could affect their breathing capacity.

*Make sure you get regular check-ups and take all your prenatal vitamins.

*After giving birth, avoid second hand smoke. This is very dangerous and again can impact your child's breathing.

*Avoid excessive sleepwear as your child may become overheated and fall into a deeper sleep. If this happens, a type of sleep apnea may occur which curtails breathing. Having your child sleep in a cooler environment is always the better choice.

*Don’t sleep with your child, especially if you have ingested any alcohol or drugs as deeper sleep may occur and the risk of smothering your child increases.

Possibly the best advice that doctors can give is to make sure that when you put your infant down for a nap or bedtime, make sure you place them on their backs. Stomach sleeping may result in the condition known as rebreathing. This may happen when the child lies on a soft mattress or near a blanket and rebreathes their exhaled air. If this occurs, they would breathe in carbon dioxide and by doing so create a lack of oxygen thus possibly contributing to SIDS.

Parents may ask, "What happens when my child gets to be 4 to 7 months old and starts turning over onto their stomachs by themselves"? This question was addressed by The American Academy of Pediatrics and it was found that when your child does this by themselves, it is perfectly fine and will "not" increase the risk of SIDS.
Another simple yet great way in deterring SIDS is by using a pacifier when placing your child in for a nap or bedtime. If breastfeeding however, one month should elapse before trying this so that babies first get acclimated to the mother's breast.

Medical technology has come a long way since the 1990's but we still need the right mindset to help make and keep our babies safe. We now have the necessary tools to help. Let's use good old common sense and practice what the doctors preach to help keep our children safe.

Source: Kids Health, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome(SIDS),http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/ sleep/sids.html

Source: WIKIPEDIA, The Free Encyclopedia,” Sudden infant death syndrome”,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudden_infant_death_sy ndrome

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