Reducing the Risk
A lack of answers is part of what makes sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) so frightening. SIDS is the leading cause of death among infants 1 month to 1 year old, and claims the lives of about 2,500 each year in the United States. It remains unpredictable despite years of research.Most deaths due to SIDS occur between 2 and 4 months of age, and incidence increases during cold weather. African-American infants are twice as likely and Native American infants are about three times more likely to die of SIDS than caucasian infants. More boys than girls fall victim to SIDS.
Other potential risk factors include:
- smoking, drinking, or drug use during pregnancy
- poor prenatal care
- prematurity or low birth weight
- mothers younger than 20
- tobacco smoke exposure following birth
- overheating from excessive sleepwear and bedding
- stomach sleeping
In 2000, on the basis of new epidemiologic evidence, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended back sleeping as the
preferred position. In the United States, prone-sleeping rates have declined 81%, from 70% in 1992 to 13% in 2005, and supine-sleeping rates
have increased from 13% to 72% over that period. The US rate of SIDS has declined 55% (from 1.20 in 1000 live births in 1992 to 0.54 in 1000 live births in 2005)
SIDS data were obtained for 13 of 17 countries queried.
For most of these countries, there has been a striking decrease in the
SIDS rate from 1990 to the most recent year available
(2005 for all but Canada, for which 2004 data are
the most recent). These decreases range from 40% in Argentina to 83% in
Ireland. The highest SIDS rates in 1990 (≥2.0 in
1000 live births) were in Ireland, New Zealand, and Scotland. More
recently,
the highest SIDS rates (≥0.5 in 1000 live births)
were in New Zealand and the United States. The lowest rates (≤ 0.2 in
1000)
were in Japan and the Netherlands. Since 2000, the
SIDS rates in most of the countries have declined minimally.
Even though the numbers of infants dying each year are decreasing we must continue to do research until there are no more infants dying unexpectedly and mysteriously. I find it particularly interesting that it seems to affect various ethnic backgrounds differently. This alone it reason enough to continue to collect data and further our research on this devastating mystery.
Michelle,
ReplyDeleteI almost covered SIDS as well because I just did a training on it from the American Academy of Pediatrics. It is a scary thing. I can't remember the exact statistics but remember reading during my training that more deaths occur outside the home. As caregivers we must be vigilant to reduce SIDS for children in our care. Thank you for sharing the information from other countries - very interesting! Elizabeth
Michelle,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this enlightening information. I did not realize all of the potential risks and factual information you found. These are frightening statistics and very interesting to learn about and understand
Michelle, I enjoyed reading your post, it is very informative. SIDS is most frightening because while researchers know what contributes to the infant fatalities, there is no definitive information related to the cause. Back-to-Sleep & Bare is Best.
ReplyDeleteMichelle I enjoyed reading your post at the same time it is very sad to hear about the babies dying because of this mysterious death SIS.
ReplyDelete