SIDS- What can you do to stop it?

I have always heard of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS, but I never really understood what it meant. I never even considered looking it up until I had Lillie. I decided I would look it up, not to scare myself, but because I felt I needed to know the risks and whether or not I should sleep instead of watch her sleep.

When I did a little research I came across a couple of articles. SIDS is the unexplained death of a baby under the age of 1. The causes are still unknown, but SIDS occurs when the baby is asleep. There are certain things they have found that increase the risk for SIDS. Placing babies on their bellies to sleep increases the risk for SIDS. Also babies with exposure to cigarette smoke are at a higher risk.

There are some ways to help prevent SIDS, but since they do not know the cause they do not know 100% how to prevent it. It is recommended to breast-feed if possible because breast-fed babies have should lower occurrences of SIDS. Of course they say you should place your baby on their back to sleep. The article also says to place your baby in a crib designed for infants without soft bedding, stuffed animals, or loose blankets. It also warns against sleeping with your baby and keeping the room too warm. Pacifiers have been associated with lowering the risk of SIDS. The article also says that baby monitors do not prevent SIDS and that there is no link between SIDS and immunizations.

I found this study interesting because despite the admittance that SIDS does not have a known cause they have listed ways to prevent it. These are all things that I have heard before about caring for your child when they go to sleep. I also thought it was interesting that they put “Call 911 if your baby is blue or not breathing.” This is kind of a DUH statement for me. Articles like this make me worry and make me laugh. It makes me worry because there is no sound way I can ensure that my child does not fall victim to SIDS. No matter how many precautions I take I can not insure my child’s safety when she goes to sleep. It also makes me laugh because its almost like they want to scare you into wrapping your child in bubble wrap to make sure they do not get any bumps or bruises. I think there is a such thing as being over cautious with your child, but because I’m a first time mother I find myself listening to these studies like they are the Bible and telling everyone I know about what I found. HELP ME PLEASE! Haha.

Well wish me luck with raising this child. I know they will come out with something new tomorrow.

Citations:
Muller, W. (2009, July). Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). CRS- Pediatric Advisor. Retrieved on March 16, 2009 from EBSCOhost database.