Babble

SIDS

DR. GREENE

DR. SEARS

AAP

AMERICAN SIDS INSTITUTE

HEALTHY CHILD

THE BABBLE TAKE

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SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) is one of the most anxiety-provoking topics facing new parents. While the exact causes of SIDS remain unknown, health experts have a number of educated guesses as to what might contribute to the sudden and unexpected death of young infants. There are a few standard suspects, most of which have to do with lack of oxygen. These range from the obvious, such as cigarette smoke, to the more insidious, such as over-dressing a sick child. There are also known risk factors, such as premature birth. One of the most widely discussed preventative measures is placing babies on their backs rather than on their stomachs when sleeping. Britain pioneered back-sleeping and the dramatic drop in SIDS that followed caused a slew of other countries, including the United States, to follow suit. But the fact that no one knows for certain why SIDS occurs means that there are a few wild theories out there ("SIDS is caused by toxins in your mattress!") Even highly trusted sources have diametrically opposed recommendations: Dr. Sears advocates co-sleeping while the AAP discourages that same practice. In the end, it's up to parents to weigh all the contradictory advice, trusting common sense.

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  DON'T GET THE GENES FOR IT: Dr. Greene "Minimizing the Risk for SIDS"

  Genetics plays a large role. SIDS is more common in boys than in girls, and it is more common in some population groups. [...] Most of the affected infants have damaged or immature brainstems, making it difficult for them to wake up when they are in trouble. ...read the full article

  Genetics plays a large role. SIDS is more common in boys than in girls, and it is more common in some population groups. [...] Most of the affected infants have damaged or immature brainstems, making it difficult for them to wake up when they are in trouble.

  [...]

  Anything that causes less oxygen to get to the baby in the uterus will increase his or her risk. On average, smoking during pregnancy doubles the chances, and the odds increase with each cigarette. Other drugs of abuse such as cocaine or heroine increase the risk by as many as thirty times.

  [...]

  SIDS is more common in babies who sleep in warm environments, who are over-bundled, who sleep in rooms with space heaters, who are exposed to cigarette smoke, who sleep on soft surfaces, who do not use pacifiers, and those who sleep face down or in a prone position.

  The rate of SIDS is higher in those babies who do not receive timely well-child care and immunizations. [...]

  Breastfeeding may also reduce the risk of SIDS, but the studies remain inconclusive.

  The SIDS rate has dropped by more than half in the last few years to 0.7 per one thousand live births in the United States. Changes in sleeping positions are being credited for the reductions (AAP News, Jan 98).

  The peak period for SIDS is between two and four months old. It is very rare before one month of age, and at least 95 percent of all the cases have occurred before children reach six months old. click to close

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  PRACTICE ATTACHMENT PARENTING: Dr. Sears "Seven Steps to Reduce the Risk of SIDS"

  In light of new research, SIDS should no longer be considered a mysterious cloud that hangs over cribs and causes babies to take their last breath. Armed with a new understanding of SIDS, parents can at least do something to reduce their worry and reduce the risk. SIDS seems to be a combination of many factors: immature development of cardiorespiratory control mechanisms, defective arousability from sleep in response to breathing difficulties, medical conditions that compromise breathing, and unsafe sleeping practices. Therefore, this SIDS risk-reduction program is designed to help these factors:

  The seven SIDS risk-lowering steps:

  Give your baby a healthy womb environment.

  Do not allow smoke around your baby — pre or postnatally.

  Put your baby to sleep on his back or side, not on his stomach.

  Breastfeed your baby.

  Give your baby a safe sleeping environment.

  Avoid overheating your baby during sleep.

  Practice the "high-touch" style of attachment parenting.

  Medical and family circumstances may prevent you from doing all seven of these risk-lowering practices, but do the best you can. ...read the full article

  In light of new research, SIDS should no longer be considered a mysterious cloud that hangs over cribs and causes babies to take their last breath. Armed with a new understanding of SIDS, parents can at least do something to reduce their worry and reduce the risk. SIDS seems to be a combination of many factors: immature development of cardiorespiratory control mechanisms, defective arousability from sleep in response to breathing difficulties, medical conditions that compromise breathing, and unsafe sleeping practices. Therefore, this SIDS risk-reduction program is designed to help these factors:

  The seven SIDS risk-lowering steps:

  Give your baby a healthy womb environment.

  Do not allow smoke around your baby — pre or postnatally.

  Put your baby to sleep on his back or side, not on his stomach.

  Breastfeed your baby.

  Give your baby a safe sleeping environment.

  Avoid overheating your baby during sleep.

  Practice the "high-touch" style of attachment parenting.

  Medical and family circumstances may prevent you from doing all seven of these risk-lowering practices, but do the best you can.

  Prematurity and low birthweight constitute two of the highest risk factors for SIDS. The increased risk and the fact that premature infants show more episodes of irregular breathing and stop-breathing (called apnea) is possibly because the respiratory control center in these infants is immature. Although the SIDS risk in premature babies is higher, the good news is that over 99 percent of premature infants don't die of SIDS and that mothers of premature babies who take good prenatal care of themselves and practice the rest of the SIDS prevention tips mentioned in this section can reduce the risk of losing their baby to SIDS.

  [...]

  One of the most significant risk factors for SIDS — and one that mothers can do something about — is smoking when their babies are in the womb or in the same room.

  [...]

  Put babies to sleep on their backs. [...] In 1994, the U.S. Public Health Service organized a national "Back to Sleep" campaign, and it paid off. In the past few years, SIDS rates have dropped around 30 to 40 percent in the United States.

  [..]

  Back-sleeping babies awaken easier. [...]

  Back-sleeping babies have a lower chance of getting overheated. [...]

  Back-sleeping babies breathe more oxygen. [...]

  [...]

  Be sure to check with your doctor to see if your baby has any medical conditions that necessitate front sleeping.

  [...]

  New research is confirming what I have long suspected: SIDS is lower in breastfed infants.

  [...]

  Because the head and face are an infant's main source of heat release, it's important not to cover your baby's head. The environment around baby's head seems to be the most important for maintaining a safe body temperature.

  [...]

  Don't overheat the room where baby sleeps. Central heating may not be the most comfortable, or the safest, for sleeping babies.

  [...]

  Practice Attachment parenting

  The biggest breakthrough in SIDS risk-reduction is the discovery that parenting practices can influence SIDS rates. click to close

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  DON'T CO-SLEEP: American Academy of Pediatrics "The Changing Concept of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome"

  Since the AAP published its last statement on SIDS in 2000, several issues have become relevant, including the significant risk of side sleeping position; the AAP no longer recognizes side sleeping as a reasonable alternative to fully supine sleeping. The AAP also stresses the need to avoid redundant soft bedding and soft objects in the infant's sleeping environment, the hazards of adults sleeping with an infant in the same bed, the SIDS risk reduction associated with having infants sleep in the same room as adults and with using pacifiers at the time of sleep, the importance of educating secondary caregivers and neonatology practitioners on the importance of "back to sleep," and strategies to reduce the incidence of positional plagiocephaly associated with supine positioning.

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  PUT THE BABY TO SLEEP ON HIS BACK: American SIDS Institute "Reducing the Risk of SIDS"

  Unfortunately, we cannot expect to prevent all SIDS deaths now. To do so requires a much greater understanding of SIDS, which will be achieved only with a commitment from those who value babies and with a considerably expanded research effort. However, there are things that can be done to reduce the risk of SIDS . . . Place infants to sleep on their backs, even though infants may sleep more soundly on their stomachs. Infants who sleep on their stomachs and sides have a higher rate of SIDS than infants who sleep on their backs . . . Place infants to sleep in a baby bed with a firm mattress. There should be nothing in the bed but the baby — no covering, no pillows, no bumper pads and no toys. Soft mattresses and heavy covering are associated with the risk for SIDS. ...read the full article

  Unfortunately, we cannot expect to prevent all SIDS deaths now. To do so requires a much greater understanding of SIDS, which will be achieved only with a commitment from those who value babies and with a considerably expanded research effort. However, there are things that can be done to reduce the risk of SIDS . . . Place infants to sleep on their backs, even though infants may sleep more soundly on their stomachs. Infants who sleep on their stomachs and sides have a higher rate of SIDS than infants who sleep on their backs . . . Place infants to sleep in a baby bed with a firm mattress. There should be nothing in the bed but the baby — no covering, no pillows, no bumper pads and no toys. Soft mattresses and heavy covering are associated with the risk for SIDS.

  Do not over-clothe the infant while he/she sleeps. Keep the room at a temperature that is comfortable for you. Overheating an infant may increase the risk for SIDS.

  [...]

  Breast milk decreases the occurrence of respiratory and gastrointestinal infections. Studies show that breastfed babies have a lower SIDS rate than formula-fed babies do.

  [...]

  Avoid exposing the infant to people with respiratory infections. Avoid crowds. Carefully clean anything that comes in contact with the baby. Have people wash their hands before holding or playing with your baby. SIDS often occurs in association with relatively minor respiratory (mild cold) and gastrointestinal infections (vomiting and diarrhea).

  [...]

  Consider using home monitoring systems (apnea/bradycardia monitors) in an attempt to prevent sudden death in high-risk infants.

  [...]

  Reduce the risk of premature birth, a major risk factor for SIDS.

  [...]

  Take care to prevent becoming pregnant during the teenage years. If you are a teen and already have one infant, take extreme caution not to become pregnant again. The SIDS rate decreases for babies born to older mothers. It is highest for babies born to teenage mothers. The more babies a teen mother has, the greater at risk they are.

  [...]

  Wait at least one year between the birth of a child and the next pregnancy. The shorter the interval between pregnancies, the higher the SIDS rate. click to close

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  THROW OUT THAT TOXIC MATTRESS: Healthy Child "Has The Cause of Crib Death (SIDS) Been Found? Toxic Gases in Baby Crib Mattresses."

  Dr. Jim Sprott, OBE, a New Zealand scientist and chemist, states with certainty that crib death is caused by toxic gases, which can be generated from a baby's mattress. Chemical compounds containing phosphorus, arsenic and antimony have been added to mattresses as fire retardants and for other purposes since the early 1950's. A fungus that commonly grows in bedding can interact with these chemicals to create poisonous gas. ...read the full article

  Dr. Jim Sprott, OBE, a New Zealand scientist and chemist, states with certainty that crib death is caused by toxic gases, which can be generated from a baby's mattress. Chemical compounds containing phosphorus, arsenic and antimony have been added to mattresses as fire retardants and for other purposes since the early 1950's. A fungus that commonly grows in bedding can interact with these chemicals to create poisonous gas.

  [...]

  In spite of denial and opposition from orthodox SIDS organizations, no research has disproved this gaseous poisoning explanation for crib death. No valid criticism of this explanation has ever been provided. This logical finding explains every factor already known about crib death, and is backed by scientific research (Sprott 1996, 2000) and eight years of practical proof consisting of a crib death prevention campaign that continues in New Zealand.

  [...]

  The main orthodox crib death prevention recommendation is to put babies to sleep on their backs. We know that babies do still die when sleeping on their backs, although face-up sleeping does reduce the risk. The gases are denser than air and tend to settle in a thin layer directly on top of the mattress, so babies sleeping face-down are more likely to inhale a lethal dose of the gases. The gases are also absorbed through babies' skin, and this is one of the major reasons why face-up sleeping provides only partial protection against crib death.

  [...]

  Use the information provided here as an educational resource for determining your options and making your own informed choices. Healthy Child does NOT make ANY claims that using a non-toxic mattress or wrapping a mattress will prevent SIDS since this has not been 100 percent scientifically proven. However, the fact that there have been no SIDS deaths among the vast number of babies in New Zealand who have slept on correctly wrapped mattresses is crucial information for parents. This fact cannot be denied and should not be suppressed. The evidence is very compelling, and we believe that parents should be informed so they can make their own decisions on how to protect their babies. click to close

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