by Isabelle Esteves

Created on: August 31, 2008   Last Updated: March 21, 2012

How can anyone understand Sudden Infant Death Syndrome?  It is one of the most devastating things that can happen to any family. A seeming healthy baby goes to sleep and for unexplained reasons, never wakes up. This most commonly occurs between the ages of two and four months but can happen anytime between one and twelve months. The guilt and grief can be overwhelming.

What could you have been done differently? How could you have protected your baby? What should you have noticed? These are all question that parents may ask themselves. The answer is that there are not any symptoms and there is nothing that anyone can see that would indicate that SIDS is a possibility. There are however some things that can be done to at least minimize the risks.

The single most important thing you can do for your baby is to make sure that they always sleep on their back. This is important not only at home but anywhere else they may be staying, insist on it. The startling fact is that one in five SIDS deaths takes place away from home in a daycare setting. 

Alternate which way the baby's head faces, this helps to make sure that the head doesn't become flat. During the day make sure that the baby has some supervised tummy time and the baby should not spend too much time in a car seat or an infant swing. Since the institution of "Back to Sleep" in 1994,  there have been only half as many SIDS deaths as previously but 2500 per year is still a very high number, especially if one is your child.

Once your baby can roll themselves over onto their stomach they are almost beyond the risk of SIDS so don't get too upset it you go in and find that your baby has flipped themselves.

Try to introduce the baby to a pacifier as soon as possible, if you are breast feeding, wait at least a month to be sure that it doesn't interfere. It has been shown that use of a pacifier helps to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Researchers are not sure why but think it may be because it keeps the baby from going into deep sleep.

Don't sleep with the baby in the bed with you. There are risks not only from SIDS but from suffocation from one of the parents accidentally rolling on the baby or the baby getting their head caught between the mattress and the headboard. It is much safer to move the baby's crib into your bedroom and it also reduces the risk of SIDS since you will be able to hear any distress that your baby may be suffering.

Swaddling your baby is a good idea. It helps not

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