Sudden Infant Death Syndrome - S. DuBose Ravenel, MD

Many parents wonder what they can do to decrease the risk that their baby might die of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Fortunately, this devastating event is very rare. Increased awareness and widespread use of measures that can reduce the risk have decreased the number of children who die from SIDS. Placing the baby on his/her back or side has decreased the risk by more than 50%.

There are additional things of which parents should be aware that minimize the risk of SIDS. A September 2000 study published in Pediatrics, the premier medical journal for pediatricians, demonstrated that allowing infants to sleep on surfaces other than standard cribs and bed-sharing increased the risk of SIDS.

Sleeping on surfaces other than standard cribs may allow the infants to sleep on items such as loose blankets, sheets, etc. that can cover the baby’s mouth and nose while sleeping. It is believed that this may contribute to many of the cases of SIDS that are reported to have occurred while the infant was sleeping on a sofa or adult bed.

Placing an infant to sleep in an adult bed also subjects the baby to the added risk of an adult accidentally rolling over onto the baby. Bed-sharing (or “co-sleeping”) alone is considered to be a risk factor for SIDS. When an adult shares a bed with an infant and also smokes, the risk of SIDS is even higher.

In addition to the increased SIDS risk, infant bed-sharing has also been found to lead to sleep problems for many infants. The baby becomes accustomed to falling asleep with the assistance of an adult and often develops problems with going back to sleep after the normal partial awakenings during the night that are part of the normal infant sleep patterns.

So remember, you can decrease the risk of SIDS by doing the following:

• Place your baby to sleep on his back or side (Remember to rotate your baby’s sleeping position to prevent him/her getting a flat head)
• Place your infant in a standard crib without loose blankets or coverlets
• Do not have an adult sleeping on the same surface
• Do not smoke around the baby