Year after the year, Japan is one of the countries with one of the lowest infant mortality rates. There are a few reasons why this may be: They have lower rates of maternal smoking and alcohol consumption — and research has shown that both maternal smoking and prenatal drinking increase a child's SIDS risk.
In conclusion, it appears that Japanese infant mortality is low because Japanese life-style and its integrated health care system produce newborns who are relatively healthier at birth. Society exercises greater control over expenditures for health care while preserving other sources of professional gratification.
The low incidence of SIDS among bed-shar- ing Asian infants may reflect the fact that few Asian mothers smoke.
More recently, the highest SIDS rates (>0.5/1000 live births) are in New Zealand and the United States. The lowest rates (<0.2/1000) are in Japan and the Netherlands.
Current incidence of SIDS is estimated to be about 0.5 per 1000 live births. The SIDS Family Association was organized in 1993 in Japan and began to publicize the social importance of SIDS and to support SIDS families by training befrienders.
The incidence of SUDI in Australia as a whole is also on the decline. Currently, it is about the same as in other Western countries – around one in every 3,000 births, or 130 babies each year. This compares to about 500 Australian babies lost to SIDS in 1990.
The incidence of SIDS has been more than halved in recent years due to public health campaigns addressing the known major risk factors of prone sleeping, maternal smoking and overheating.
Infants (children under 1 year) had the highest rate of death in all jurisdictions in 2020, accounting for 59% of all child deaths in Australia. Rates of infant deaths from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and undetermined causes ranged between 0.16 and 0.52 per 1,000 live births.
However, despite improvements in these four risk-related behaviours, cot death mortality again appears to be rising in New Zealand. It is suggested here that this is because the root causes of cot death in New Zealand are widespread soil and associated dietary deficiencies in selenium and iodine.
Babies who sleep in their own room since birth or who sleep in the same bed as their parents are known to have a higher incidence of SIDS. That said, it is to be noted that SIDS is less common amongst South Asian babies where it is a common practice for babies to sleep in the same bed as their parents.
SUID rates per 100,000 live births were highest among non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native (213.5), non-Hispanic Black infants (191.4), and non-Hispanic Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander infants (164.5).
Sleep position:
Babies placed to sleep on their stomachs or sides are at higher risk for SIDS. Babies who are used to sleeping on their backs but who are placed on their stomachs or sides for sleep, like for a nap, are at very high risk of SIDS.
Because of the risks involved, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warn against bed-sharing. The AAP does recommend the practice of room-sharing without bed-sharing. Sleeping in the parents' room but on a separate surface lowers a baby's risk of SIDS.
This decline in Japan's birth rate has several significant consequences for the country including aging population which has put a significant strain on the country's healthcare system, social security system, and economy. Japan today has a rapidly aging population and a declining labor force.
Put your baby to sleep alone in a crib, bassinet or playpen
However, don't have your baby sleep with you in your bed. “Placing a baby in bed with a parent (as opposed to within a safe sleep environment, like a crib or bassinet) increases their risk of SIDS tenfold,” Dr. Felman said.
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.
During wintry months, you may be tempted to wrap your baby in extra blankets and warm clothes before sleep. But take care. Over-bundling may cause infants to overheat, increasing their risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)—the third leading cause of infant death.
In post-mortem investigations, evidence of suffocation is not found in most babies who die of SIDS. SIDS may be associated with the brain's ability to control breathing and arousal from sleep, low birth weight or respiratory infection.
In one study, 80% of infants introduced to white noise fell asleep faster than those who fell asleep without it. Scholars believe that sleep aids, like white noise machines, can help infants experience more prolonged periods of deep sleep, reducing the risk of SIDS.
Breastfeeding has been shown to reduce the occurrence of SIDS by over 50 percent by improving the immune system, promoting brain growth, reducing reflux and a variety of other factors. While six months of breastfeeding is recommended, only two months of breastfeeding is required to significantly cut the risk of SIDS.
The key risk factors associated with SUDI in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander infants are: low birthweight. premature birth. maternal nutrition during pregnancy.
Experts have had little idea what causes SIDS. A new study released by Australian researchers, however, may change that, by linking an enzyme called butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) to SIDS. According to the study, children who have died due to SIDS appear to have lower levels of BChE.
In 1992, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that babies sleep on their backs to prevent accidental deaths. As the number of babies sleeping on their backs has increased, SIDS cases have decreased.
Parentally defined day-time or night-time deaths of 325 SIDS infants and reference sleep of 1300 age-matched controls. Results The majority of SIDS deaths (83%) occurred during night-time sleep, although this was often after midnight and at least four SIDS deaths occurred during every hour of the day.