In 2017, 6 babies in every 100,000 died of SIDS. Most deaths happen during the first 3 months of a baby's life. Infants born prematurely or with a low birth weight are at greater risk, and SIDS is also more common in baby boys. Most unexpected deaths occur while the child is asleep in their cot at night.
Sudden infant death syndrome (41%) Unknown cause (32%) Accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed (27%)
SIDS is not the same as suffocation and is not caused by suffocation. SIDS is not caused by vaccines, immunizations, or shots.
If you're worried that your baby might suddenly stop breathing during the night, know that the chances of a child succumbing to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) — which is defined as the sudden and unexplained death of an apparently healthy infant — are very, very small.
Among babies, accidental suffocation is responsible for three-fourths of all unintentional injury deaths. More than 85% of all deaths from Accidental Suffocation and Strangulation in Bed occur from birth to 6 months of age. Most ASSB deaths occur between birth and 4 months of age.
SIDS and SUDI are rare and the risk of your baby dying from it is very low. The rate of SIDS deaths has declined in Australia due to safe sleeping campaigns. In 2017, 6 babies in every 100,000 died of SIDS. Most deaths happen during the first 3 months of a baby's life.
Always lay an infant down on their back on a firm mattress. Never place an infant on soft surfaces such as comforter, fluffy rug, or soft mattress. Never put an infant down on a mattress covered with plastic. Keep blankets, pillows, stuffed animals, or plush toys out of the crib.
While the cause of SIDS is unknown, many clinicians and researchers believe that SIDS is associated with problems in the ability of the baby to arouse from sleep, to detect low levels of oxygen, or a buildup of carbon dioxide in the blood. When babies sleep face down, they may re-breathe exhaled carbon dioxide.
Most SIDS deaths happen in babies between 1 and 4 months old, and cases rise during cold weather. Babies might have a higher risk of SIDS if: their mother smoked, drank, or used drugs during pregnancy and after birth.
SIDS is most common at 2-4 months of age when the cardiorespiratory system of all infants is in rapid transition and therefore unstable. So, all infants in this age range are at risk for dysfunction of neurological control of breathing.
Goodstein said, when babies sleep in the same room as their parents, the background sounds or stirrings prevent very deep sleep and that helps keeps the babies safe. Room sharing also makes breast-feeding easier, which is protective against SIDS.
Oftentimes, babies who succumb to SIDS have had a “minor infection” in the days before death. Infants' immune systems are immature, and breast milk helps to provide necessary antibodies to fight infections such as RSV, which can contribute to inflammation and lead to SIDS. Breastfeeding promotes safer sleep.
SIDS is less common after 8 months of age, but parents and caregivers should continue to follow safe sleep practices to reduce the risk of SIDS and other sleep-related causes of infant death until baby's first birthday. More than 90% of all SIDS deaths occur before 6 months of age.
However, the rate of SIDS remains high, contributing to almost 50 per cent of all post-neonatal deaths in Western countries and responsible for two infant deaths in Australia every week.
Babies who share a bed with other children or adults. Mothers who smoke during pregnancy (three times more likely to have a baby die of SIDS) Exposure to passive smoke from smoking by mothers, fathers, and others in the household (doubles a baby's risk of SIDS)
The potential factors that contribute to the occurrence of SIDS include inadequate prenatal care, low birth weight (<2499gr), premature infants, intrauterine growth delay, short interval between pregnancies and maternal substance use (tobacco, alcohol, opiates).
White noise reduces the risk of SIDS.
We DO know that white noise reduces active sleep (which is the sleep state where SIDS is most likely to occur).
It's best to top up the level of oxygen in your baby before calling 999. If you are on your own, give rescue breaths and chest compressions for one minute and then call 999. After you've called 999, continue rescue breaths and chest compressions until help arrives.
Infants are sensitive to extremes in temperature and cannot regulate their body temperatures well. Studies have shown that multiple layers or heavy clothing, heavy blankets, and warm room temperatures increase SIDS risk.
Babies should be placed skin-to-skin on their mother's chest right after birth for at least the first hour. Babies benefit from skin-to-skin contact when breastfeeding as well as when being bottle fed. Sharing a bed with your baby puts them at a higher risk of SIDS, suffocation, or strangulation.
Deaths could occur more commonly at night in older infants because sleep is increasingly concentrated into the night. Prone sleep position could work through a thermal mechanism, so that the variables related to bedding and environmental temperature would be more important at night.
Do not let your baby's head become covered. Babies whose heads are covered with bedding are at an increased risk of SIDS. To prevent your baby wriggling down under the covers, place them in the "feet to foot" position. This means their feet are at the end of the crib, cot or moses basket.
Babies can become wedged between a parent's body and the back of a couch or the arm of a chair and the weight of the adult's body can prevent them from breathing. Sleeping with your baby on a sofa also puts your baby at a greatly increased risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
Sucking on a pacifier requires forward positioning of the tongue, thus decreasing this risk of oropharyngeal obstruction. The influence of pacifier use on sleep position may also contribute to its apparent protective effect against SIDS.