Reduce the risks of SIDS

Even though most caregivers agree on the importance of safe infant sleep practices, many of them may not know what to do – or not do – to prevent sleep-related deaths from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

“Parents have good intentions but may not understand that blankets, quilts and pillows increase a baby’s risk of SIDS and accidental suffocation,” says researcher Carrie K. Shapiro-Mendoza, a senior scientist at the CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health in Atlanta.

SIDS is the leading cause of death among infants between the ages of one and 12 months and, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, claims about 2,500 lives each year in the United States.

To learn more about SIDS, visit the Web site of the American Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Institute at www.sids.org.

Incidents of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) have dropped since 1994 when parents and caregivers began to be taught to put infants on their backs to sleep. But there still is one day of the year when SIDS surges by 33%.

Many parents encourage it, but this one nighttime activity causes more than 5,000 infant deaths each year. Here are a few ways to lessen the risks.

A great deal of research has looked into why some infants die from SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) or suffocate while sleeping. But many parents still let their baby sleep in conditions that can put their lives in danger.