Preventing SIDS

Image via www.prevent-sids.org 

SIDS is the leading cause of death in healthy babies over one year of age.

From Wikipedia:

Prenatal risks

• inadequate prenatal care ^{[citation needed]}
• inadequate prenatal nutrition
• tobacco smoking
• use of heroin
• subsequent births less than one year apart
• alcohol abuse
• being overweight
• smoking and taking other drugs while pregnant

[edit] Post-natal risks

• low birth weight (especially less than 1.5 kg (~3.3 lb))
• exposure to tobacco smoke^[2]
• laying an infant to sleep on his or her stomach (see sleep positioning below)
• failure to breastfeed
• excess clothing and overheating
• excess bedding, soft sleep surface and stuffed animals
• gender (61% of SIDS cases occur in males)
• age (incidence rises from zero at birth, is highest from two to four months, and declines towards zero at one year)
• premature birth (increase risk of SIDS death by 50 times)

As you can see from the chart at the top of this post, being a second or subsequent baby or being the child of a single parent also puts children at a higher risk of SIDS.

Some other tips:

1. Always put your baby to sleep on it’s back. The Back-To-Sleep campaign has helped dramatically reduce crib deaths.

2. Always keep your crib free of blankets, stuffed animals, toys, extra clothing, and loose or soft bedding.  NEVER USE PILLOWS OR SOFT BUMPER PADS IN A CRIB.  Most SIDS is caused by suffocation. Use a wearable blanket.

3. Get a new (not used) crib mattress and either wrap it in a cover specially designed to prevent SIDS or buy the HALO airflow mattress — the only mattress proven to reduce SIDS — and clean it regularly.  Make sure your mattress fits tightly and that the sheets and pad fight snugly (but not so tightly they might pop off.) Use only 100% cotton sheets and wearable blankets.

4. Never allow a young baby to sleep on a sofa, pillow, cushion, or in adult bed that doesn’t meet the above requirements for cribs (i.e. being totally free of soft bedding).

5. Consider short-term pacifier use as a means of reducing your baby’s risk for SIDS.