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What is SIDS?  How can you reduce the danger of SIDS?  Is every population at risk for SIDS?  Will sleeping with your baby prevent SIDS?

What is SIDS?
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden and unexplained death of an infant less than one year old. Every year in the United States, thousands of infants die from SIDS.  

Who is affected?
Scientists do not know the exact cause of SIDS, but they do know things that make infants more susceptible. These include sleeping on the stomach, sleeping with blankets or pillows or other objects that could make breathing difficult, and being around secondhand smoke. 

Make sure your child sleeps on her back during naps and at night. Studies have shown that babies who are put to sleep on their backs are far less likely to suffer from SIDS. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, black infants have a SIDS rate over two times the national average, and they are twice as likely to be placed on their stomachs as white infants.  It is vital that the message get out to all child care providers, including family and those in professional child care, that infants should always be put to sleep on their backs unless a pediatrician advises otherwise.

There are many things you can do to help prevent SIDS:

• Back to Sleep: lay your infant on his back to sleep at night and during naps. Check with your pediatrician to determine if an exception needs to be made.
• Do not bring your infant to sleep with you in your bed.  Use a crib or bassinet next to or in your own room.  Make sure the crib or bassinet is safe.  See Sleep Safety.
• Make sure the bed’s sheets are tight fitting.  Covers and soft bedding could cover your baby’s face and mouth and make breathing more difficult.
• Dress your infant in sleepers or layers of clothes to avoid the use of blankets, but be aware of making your infant too hot.  Overheating may play a role in causing SIDS.
• Remove all soft toys, pillows, and stuffed animals, as well as anything with loose strings or buttons from your infant’s bed.
• Do not let anyone smoke around your baby.  Do not bring your baby to areas where there may be secondhand smoke.
• Make sure your child care facility and caregivers know how to reduce the risk of SIDS – especially about the Back to Sleep campaign!

It’s safe for your infant to be on her tummy when she’s awake and important for developing shoulder strength and movement.  Have her enjoy “tummy time” outside her crib or bassinet during waking hours.

For more information visit:

Caring for Your Baby and Young Child
Shelov, Steven P., MD; Hannemann, Robert E., MD.  Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5.   The American Academy of Pediatrics.  1998. 

SIDS Alliance
The Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Alliance is a national nonprofit voluntary health organization that unites families, caregivers, health professionals and scientists with government, business and community service groups in a nationwide movement to advance infant safety and survival across America, support bereaved families, and hasten the elimination of SIDS through research.
http://www.sidsalliance.org/index/default.asp

The American SIDS Institute
The American SIDS Institute is a national nonprofit health care organization that is dedicated to the prevention of sudden infant death and the promotion of infant health through an aggressive, comprehensive nationwide program of research, clinical services, education, and family support.
http://www.sids.org/

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NCIHD)
The NCIHD is the home of the Back to Sleep Campaign, and the site contains lots of brochures and publications which can be ordered or viewed on line.
http://www.nichd.nih.gov/sids/

Consumer Products Safety Commission
This site contains many crib safety tips that will help keep your child safe.
www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/5030.html