Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

When my daughter was born the nurse had me watch a video about SIDS and sign a paper verifying. I really didn’t watch the video because my fiancés mom had told me a lot about SIDS and the prevention of it. However, the more I hear about it on the news the more I felt like doing my own research on it.

What is SIDS?

SIDS stands for sudden infant death syndrome. It is the leading cause of death in the United States for children one month to one year. The diagnosis of SIDS is decided after the person doing the autopsy has ruled all other possibilities out. Most cases of SIDS happen in a child between the age of two months and four months.

What Causes SIDS?

The truth is no one really knows what causes sudden infant death syndrome. Though there are many theories. One theory I read about is the idea of toxic gases in our children’s mattresses. It is very scary to think of that as a possibility and that theory has not been disproven or decided on. The idea stems from the chemicals in the fire retardant application to the mattress combining with a fungus that can grow in the mattress creating a toxic chemical. The toxic chemical is thought to lie along the surface of the mattress where the baby breathes it in. According, to this theory the idea the baby was poisoned would not show up in the autopsy.

Another theory is the idea of the child’s neck muscles being weak. If you lay your baby on his or her stomach and they put their face flat down in the bed there muscles are still very weak. It could be a possibility that the baby was unable to lift or turns its head. Some people believe immunizations cause SIDS. Others believe smoking or drinking when falling asleep holding the child. The theories go on and on, the truth is at this time there is no definitive answer to why babies are dying from SIDS. There is plenty of research going on and hopefully in the future society will come up with an answer.

For now there are many things you can do to. Please refer to the list below

· Be sure to visit the doctors while pregnant for regular check ups. Low birth weight and prematurity are two more risk factors for SIDS.

· Never let your child sleep on their stomach. If you are worried about them developing a flat head, you can and should do supervised tummy time during the day. Tummy time promotes the developing of babies neck and shoulder muscles. But remember it should always be supervised.

· Use a firm mattress for your child’s bed

· Don’t use blankets, pillows, stuffed animals, bumpers, etc... in your babies bed. If you think your child is cold you can turn up the thermostat a little, or dress them a little warmer. One of the ways I would dress my daughter warmer for winter time is put a long sleeve onesie under her sleeper. There’s also lullabags sold by cloud B and many similar products out there.

· Don’t put so much clothing on your child that they overheat. One way of doing this is by controlling the temperature in the room and watching for signs of your baby being extra warm example sweating.

· Keep your child’s crib in your bedroom until they reach at least 6 months of age.

· Do not smoke, drink, or use drugs when pregnant. According to information I came across children of mothers who smoked when pregnant were three times as likely to die from SIDS.

· Breastfeeding is ideal. Some research found breastfeeding was likely to reduce the risk of SIDS.

· Put your child to sleep with a pacifier. Some studies found pacifiers lowered the chance of SIDS.

These seem to be the most common recommendations for decreasing your child’s chance of SIDS. There are many more out there. Be sure to discuss anything you have decided on with anyone who may be babysitting your child. This way they are aware if you don’t want blankets in the crib or smoking around your child. I find SIDS to be a very scary idea. Mostly the idea that they really don’t know what causes it. For more information you can always call your pediatrician.

References

Floyd R. Livingston Jr., MD. Kids Health / Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. 1995-2011. 13 March 2011 .

Institute, American SIDS. American SIDS Institute. 1983-2009. 13 March 2011 .

Sheppard, Jane. Has the Cause of Crib Death Been Found? n.d. 13 March 2011 .