Ways to Reduce Risks and Prevent SIDS

Apr 14, 2022

What is SIDS? Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden and unexplained death of a baby younger than 1-year-old. A diagnosis of SIDS is made if the baby’s death remains unexplained even after a death scene investigation, an autopsy, and a review of the clinical history.

SIDS is a mysterious syndrome. By its very definition, the cause cannot be determined. But certain SIDS risk factors do exist. SIDS is the leading cause of death among babies between 1 month and 1 year of age. About 2,300 babies in the United States die of SIDS each year. For Wichita and the surrounding Kansas area, a recent study shows that infant mortality across all races has been decreasing in Sedgwick County, but only non-Hispanic white infant deaths have declined below 5 deaths per 1,000 live births. Meanwhile, the rate among Hispanic births is 6.4 deaths per 1,000 live births and the rate among non-Hispanic Black births is 10.7 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Some babies are more at risk for SIDS than others. For example, SIDS is more likely to affect a baby who is between 1 and 4 months old, it is more common in boys than girls, and most deaths occur during the fall, winter, and early spring months.

By understanding SIDS risk factors, scheduling a prenatal consultation, having regular prenatal visits throughout pregnancy, and taking preventative steps to reduce risk of SIDS in babies — we can work toward preventing SIDS.

Causes of SIDS and SIDS Risk Factors

Facts About SIDS

HealthCore Clinic is dedicated to reducing infant deaths through comprehensive prenatal care, early childhood check-ups, pediatric care, education, and access to care regardless of financial situation and healthcare. Understanding SIDS risk factors and causes of SIDS while providing increased access to prenatal visits can reduce risk of SIDS and lower the chances of families being plagued by sudden infant death syndrome in our communities.

SIDS Risk Factors

SIDS is a sudden and silent medical disorder that can happen to an infant who seems healthy. SIDS is sometimes called “crib death” or “cot death” because it is associated with the time when the baby is sleeping. Cribs themselves don’t cause SIDS, but the baby’s sleep environment can influence sleep-related causes of death. Factors that can place a baby at higher risk of dying from SIDS include the following:

• Babies who sleep on their stomach or their side rather than their back.
• Overheating while sleeping.
• Too soft a sleeping surface, with fluffy blankets or toys.
• Mothers who smoke during pregnancy are three times more likely to have a baby with SIDS.
• Exposure to passive smoke from smoking by mothers, fathers, and others in the household doubles a baby’s risk of SIDS.
• Mothers who are younger than 20-years-old at the time of their first pregnancy.
• Babies who are born to mothers who had little, late, or no prenatal care.
• Premature or low birth weight babies.
• Having a sibling who died of SIDS.

Causes of SIDS

As stated before, SIDS is a mysterious syndrome and the cause cannot be fully determined. Children’s researchers have uncovered strong evidence that SIDS has a biological basis, and are continuing to work towards determining the underlying causes and identifying at-risk babies.

Diagnosing SIDS

A baby is determined to have died from SIDS if no cause of death can be identified following a death scene investigation, an autopsy, and a review of the clinical history. Thus, SIDS is a diagnosis of exclusion: SIDS as a cause of death is determined only when all other causes have been excluded.

Ways To Reduce Risk of SIDS With Precautions and Regular Prenatal Visits

Preventing or Reducing the Risk of SIDS

Because medical professionals are still researching the possible causes of SIDS, there is currently no way to “prevent” the syndrome from occurring. However, research shows that there are several ways to reduce the risk of SIDS and other sleep-related causes of infant death. You can vastly reduce your baby’s risk of SIDS by doing the following:

• Always Place Your Baby on Their Back To Sleep. The back sleep position is the safest position for all babies until they are 1-year-old. Babies who are used to sleeping on their backs, but who are then placed to sleep on their stomachs, such as for a nap, are at very high risk for SIDS. Preemies (infants born preterm) should be placed on their backs to sleep as soon as possible after birth.
• Use a Firm and Flat Sleep Surface. A firm sleeping surface, such as a mattress in a Safety-Approved Crib, covered by a fitted sheet with no other bedding or soft items in the sleeping area can reduce the risk of SIDS. Never place a baby to sleep on soft surfaces, such as on a couch, sofa, waterbed, pillow, quilt, sheepskin, or blanket. These surfaces can be very dangerous for babies. Do not use a car seat, stroller, swing, infant carrier, infant sling, or similar products as a baby’s regular sleep area. Following these recommendations reduces the risk of SIDS and death or injury from suffocation, entrapment, and strangulation.
• Do Not Put Soft Objects In Your Baby’s Sleeping Area. Toys, crib bumpers, or loose bedding should never be under or over your baby. Keeping these items out of your baby’s sleep area reduces the risk of SIDS and suffocation, entrapment, and strangulation. Because the evidence does not support using them to prevent injury, crib bumpers are not recommended. Crib bumpers are linked to serious injuries and deaths from suffocation, entrapment, and strangulation. Keeping these and other soft objects out of your baby’s sleep area is the best way to avoid these dangers.
• Do Not Let Your Baby Get Too Hot During Sleep. Dress your baby in sleep clothing, such as a wearable blanket designed to keep him or her warm without the need for loose blankets in the sleeping area. Dress your baby appropriately for the environment, and do not overbundle them. Parents and caregivers should watch for signs of overheating, such as sweating or the baby’s chest feeling hot to the touch. Keep the baby’s face and head uncovered during sleep.
• Consider Giving Your Baby a Pacifier for Naps and Nighttime Sleep. Do not attach the pacifier to anything—like a string, clothing, stuffed toy, or blanket—that carries a risk of suffocation, choking, or strangulation. Wait until breastfeeding is well established (often by 3 to 4 weeks) before offering a pacifier. Or, if you are not breastfeeding, offer the pacifier as soon as you want. Don’t force the baby to use it. If the pacifier falls out of your baby’s mouth during sleep, there is no need to put the pacifier back in. Pacifiers reduce the risk of SIDS for all babies, including breastfed babies.
• Breastfeed Your Baby To Reduce the Risk of SIDS. Breastfeeding has many health benefits for the mother and baby. Babies who breastfeed, or are fed breastmilk, are at lower risk for SIDS than are babies who were never fed breastmilk. Studies show that a longer duration of exclusive breastfeeding also leads to a lower risk of SIDS. If you bring your baby into your bed for feeding, put him or her back in a separate sleep area when finished.
• Share Your Room With Your Baby. Keep your baby in your room close to your bed, but on a separate surface designed for infants, ideally for your baby’s first year, but at least for the first 6 months. Room sharing reduces the risk of SIDS. Your baby should not sleep in an adult bed, on a couch, or on a chair alone, with you, or with anyone else, including siblings or pets. Having a separate safe sleep surface for the baby reduces the risk of SIDS and the chance of suffocation, strangulation, and entrapment. If you bring your baby into your bed for feeding or comforting, remove all soft items and bedding from the area. When finished, put your baby back in a separate sleep area made for infants, like a crib or bassinet, and close to your bed. Couches and armchairs can also be very dangerous for babies if adults fall asleep as they feed, comfort, or bond with babies while on these surfaces. Parents and other caregivers should be mindful of how tired they are during these times. There is no evidence for or against devices or products that claim to make bed-sharing “safer.”
• Give Your Baby Plenty of Supervised Tummy Time When They Are Awake. Supervised Tummy Time helps strengthen your baby’s neck, shoulder, and arm muscles. It also helps to prevent flat spots on the back of your baby’s head. Limiting the time spent in car seats, once the baby is out of the car, and changing the direction the infant lays in the sleeping area from week to week also can help to prevent these flat spots.
• Avoid Products That Go Against Safe Sleep Recommendations, Especially Those That Claim To Prevent or Reduce the Risk For SIDS. There is currently no known way to prevent SIDS. Evidence does not support the safety or effectiveness of wedges, positioners, or other products that claim to keep infants in a specific position or to reduce the risk of SIDS, suffocation, or reflux. In fact, many of these products are associated with injury and death, especially when used in a baby’s sleep area.
• Follow Guidance from Your Health Care Provider on Your Baby’s Vaccines and Regular Health Checkups. Vaccines not only protect your baby’s health, but research shows that vaccinated babies are at lower risk for SIDS. Well-child visits are a time when parents can check up on their child’s health and make sure they’re growing and developing normally. Well-child visits usually start a few days after children are born and continue until they turn 18.
• To Reduce the Risk of SIDS, Do Not Smoke During Pregnancy, and Do Not Smoke or Allow Smoking Around Your Baby.
• To Reduce the Risk of SIDS, Women Should:
  • Get regular prenatal care during pregnancy.
  • Avoid smoking, drinking alcohol, and using marijuana or illegal drugs during pregnancy or after the baby is born.

Make sure everyone who cares for your baby knows the ways to reduce the risk of SIDS and other sleep-related causes of infant death.

Prenatal Care and Pediatric Doctors in Wichita, KS

Prenatal Consultations with Pediatrician

Early and regular prenatal care can help reduce risk of SIDS in babies. Proper nutrition, no smoking or drug or alcohol use by the mother, and frequent medical checkups beginning early in pregnancy might help prevent a baby from developing an abnormality that could put them at risk for sudden death.

Regular prenatal visits throughout your pregnancy help to catch potential concerns early and reduce the risk of pregnancy and birth complications.

If you are pregnant, schedule a prenatal consultation with the HealthCore Clinic prenatal team today. The HealthCore Clinic prenatal care team includes OB-GYN Care, Family Medicine providers, Wesley Family Medicine residents, and Certified Nurse-Midwives (CNM). We offer comprehensive checkups throughout your pregnancy to help keep you and your future baby healthy.

HealthCore Clinic is unlike most medical offices you’re familiar with. Our patients are more actively engaged in improving their health, and their baby’s health, through a team-based approach. We encourage you to become a partner with your prenatal care team to manage your and your baby’s care in a way that is best for you and your baby.

Our integrated care approach means that you have convenient, affordable access to improve your whole health and wellness — with all your prenatal care services under one roof including medical, behavioral, ultrasounds, lab, pharmacy, and more.

The systems in our body are connected, so why should your prenatal care be fragmented? It shouldn’t. Schedule an appointment with our prenatal care team today and see why HealthCore Clinic’s integrated approach to care is Wichita’s premier choice for expecting mothers.

ENFOQUE DE HEALTHCORE CLINIC PARA EL CUIDADO PRENATAL

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HealthCore Clinic tiene todas sus necesidades del cuidado prenatal bajo un mismo techo, incluyendo médicos, salud mental, ultrasonidos, laboratorio, farmacia y más.

El equipo del cuidado prenatal de HealthCore Clinic incluye atención obstetra y ginecológica, proveedores de medicina familiar, residentes de Wesley Family Medicine y enfermeras parteras certificadas (CNM). Ofrecemos revisiones completas durante todo el embarazo para ayudar a mantenerlo a usted y a su futuro bebé sanos.

El cuidado prenatal regular durante todo el embarazo ayuda a detectar posibles preocupaciones a tiempo y reduce el riesgo de complicaciones del embarazo y del parto. Tan pronto como sospeche que está embarazada, haga una cita con el equipo prenatal de HealthCore Clinic.