Each year in the United States, ∼3500 infants die of sleep-related infant deaths, including sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) (International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision [ICD-10] R95), ill-defined deaths (ICD-10 R99), and accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed (ICD-10 W75). After a substantial decline in sleep-related deaths in the 1990s, the overall death rate attributable to sleep-related infant deaths has remained stagnant since 2000, and disparities persist. The triple risk model proposes that SIDS occurs when an infant with intrinsic vulnerability (often manifested by impaired arousal, cardiorespiratory, and/or autonomic responses) undergoes an exogenous trigger event (eg, exposure to an unsafe sleeping environment) during a critical developmental period.
Read More
Did Researchers Really Uncover the Cause of SIDS
But experts who spoke to The Scientist were deeply critical of the hype surrounding the study—including some of the comments from Harrington herself that suggest that the study could help prevent SIDS. For instance, a May 7 press release from The Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network (with which Harrington is affiliated)—which sparked much of the study’s initial coverage—includes…..
Read More
Recommendations
for a safe sleep environment include:
Additional recommendations for infant death risk reduction
New evidence is presented for skin-to-skin care for newborn infants, use of bedside and in-bed sleepers, sleeping on couches/armchairs and in sitting devices, and use of soft bedding after 4 months of age. The recommendations and strength of evidence for each recommendation are included in this policy statement. The rationale for these recommendations is discussed in detail in the accompanying technical report
Research Brief
Preterm Delivery and Age of SIDS Death
Purpose: The aim of the study is to (1) reexamine risk factors for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Conclusions: Preterm birth continues to be a strong risk factor for SIDS after controlling for fetal growth.
With increasing gestational age, mean age of SIDS death decreases considerably, with the postnatal age of death of very preterm infants, 6 weeks later than that of term infants. www.sciencedirect.com
Second-Trimester Maternal Serum Levels of Alpha-Fetoprotein and the Subsequent Risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
Related Research/Topics
- The Changing Concept of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: Diagnostic Coding Shifts, Controversies Regarding the Sleeping Environment, and New Variables to Consider in Reducing Risk www.pediatrics.aappublications.org
- Influence of Sleep Position Experience on Ability of Prone-Sleeping Infants to Escape From Asphyxiating Microenvironments by Changing Head Position www.pediatrics.aappublications.org
- Study Confirms Safety of Placing Infants to Sleep on their Backs Infant Who Sleep on Back Have Fewer Fevers and Ear Infections www.nih.gov
- Heat Stress and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Incidence: A United States Population Epidemiologic Study pediatrics.aappublications.org
- Sleep Position of Low Birth Weight Infants www.pediatrics.aappublications.org
- Effect of Prone Sleeping on Circulatory Control in Infants www.adc.bmjjournals.com
- Changing Infants’ Sleep Position Increases Risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
