Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) also called cot or crib death, is the sudden death of an infant that is unexpected and remains unexplained after a thorough forensic autopsy and a detailed death scene investigation.

Listed below are several risk factors associated with increased probability of the syndrome based on information available prior to this recent study.

Prenatal Risks• Maternal nicotine use (tobacco or nicotine patch)
• Inadequate prenatal care
• Inadequate prenatal nutrition
• Use of heroin, cocaine and other drugs
• Subsequent births less than one year apart
• Alcohol use
• Infant being overweight
• Mother being overweight
• Teen mother
• Gender (60% of SIDS cases occur in males)

Postnatal Risks• Mold (can cause bleeding lungs plus a variety of other uncommon conditions leading to a misdiagnosis and death). It is often misdiagnosed as a virus, flu, and/or asthma-like conditions.
• Low birth weight (in the US from 1995-1998 the rate for 1000-1499 g was 2.89/1000 and for 3500-3999 g it was 0.51/1000)
• Exposure to tobacco smoke
• prone sleep position (lying on the stomach, see sleep positioning below)
• Not breastfeeding
• Elevated or reduced room temperature
• Excess bedding, clothing, soft sleep surface and stuffed animals
• Co-sleeping with parents or other siblings may increase risk for SIDS, but the mechanism remains unclear
• Infant's age (incidence rises from zero at birth, is highest from two to four months, and declines towards zero at one year)
• Premature birth (increases risk of SIDS death by about 4 times. In 1995-1998 the US SIDS rate for 37–39 weeks of gestation was 0.73/1000; The SIDS rate for 28–31 weeks of gestation was 2.39/1000)
• Anemia

Risk Reducers• Place the baby on his/her back to sleep
• Place the baby on a firm mattress in a safety approved crib
• Remove all soft, fluffy bedding and toys from the crib
• Ensure the baby’s head and face is uncovered
• Don’t allow smoking around the baby
• Don’t let the baby get too warm during sleep

For more information on SIDS call 1800-505-CRIB or visit http://www.sids.org/