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Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS is the death of a healthy child less than 1 year of age in which the death occurs while the child is sleeping. This cause of death is almost unexplainable seeing as how a generally healthy child goes to sleep and dies throughout the sleeping cycle. More than often SIDS occurs in babies younger than 6 months old but can occur in babies up to 1 year old. Once known as "crib death", it strikes boys more often than girls. Why? No one knows. A few pointers to help reduce SIDS is as follows: Healthy babies that were carried the full term of pregnancy should be placed on their back to sleep. A baby that can roll over should be placed on their back to sleep but let them choose their position, for instance if they roll over on their side after you lay them down it is not necessary to move them to their back again. Take these precautions to reduce the risk of SIDS...Do not place pillows, comforters, etc. in the crib with the baby, do not put a baby to sleep on soft bedding such as a sofa or water bed, keep the temperature in your home cool, do not swaddle the baby in heavy blankets, use caution if your baby sleeps with you because of any soft bedding or mattress. Do not smoke in your home or in your car around the baby. Make sure that your baby crib meets "crib safety" standards because a baby can become trapped between the mattress and the crib slats. Some parents have the concern that placing a small baby to sleep on their backs can cause them to choke to death when they spit up...but this has not been proven with healthy babies. However, a premature baby or a baby with breathing or heart problems should probably be placed on its side to sleep in a wedge that holds the baby and doesn't allow the baby to roll. A sleeping wedge can be purchased at most any baby store.

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