Sudden
Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the "sudden death of an
infant under one year of age that remains unexplained after a
complete investigation, which includes an autopsy, examination
of the death scene, and review of the symptoms or illnesses the
infant had prior to dying and any other pertinent medical history."
It
most commonly occurs between the ages of 1 and 4 months and usually
while your baby is sleeping. Fortunately, the incidence of SIDS
has decreased dramitically in recent years. This has been thought
to be secondary to the Back to Sleep campaign that instructs
parents to put their infants to sleep on their backs and not
their side or stomachs.
The
most important
thing that
you can
do to prevent
SIDS is
to put
your baby
to sleep
on his
back (sleeping
on his
side is
not as
safe, expecially
if he can
roll over
onto his
stomach) and never
put him
down alone
on a waterbed,
bean bag,
or soft
blanket
that can
cover his
face and
cause choking.
Also make
sure that
daycare
personal
or baby-sitters
also know
to put
your baby to sleep
on his
back.
Another
risk factor
for SIDS
may be
thermal
stress
or getting
overheated.
To avoid
this you
should
provide
your infant
with a
comfortable
room temperature
that isn't
too warm
or hot and avoid
excessive
bedclothes,
covering
the head
and too
much bundling.
While
bedsharing
may not
increase
the risk
of SIDS,
it is also
not thought
to be protective.
Exposure
to second
hand smoke
is a definite
risk factor,
and it
is probably
not enough
to just
smoke outside
the house.
Lastly,
breastfeeding
is thought
to be protective
against
SIDS.
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