Preventing Infant Sleep-Related Deaths Reduce Risk

By Robert Hugh Farley, MS.
Consultant to the VIRTUS® Programs

Mother holding young babyDuring my career as a detective in Chicago, I investigated numerous crimes against children and was involved in multiple infant and child death investigations. After recently becoming the grandfather of twin boys, my knowledge about the preventive actions that parents, grandparents and trusted caregivers should take to reduce infant sleep-related deaths has taken on new importance. 

Sudden Unexplained Infant Deaths – SUID Investigations

Each year in the United States thousands of sleeping infants die suddenly and unexpectedly. Those professionals who are involved in the investigation of these deaths, such as law enforcement, child protective services and medical examiners or coroners, refer to them as SUID investigations or sudden unexplained infant deaths. 

Many SUID investigations determine the cause of death is asphyxiation, which can be the result of a sleeping infant getting accidentally trapped between a mattress and a wall. Bed sharing is also suspected in SUID cases; suffocation can occur when a sleeping caretaker accidentally rolls on top of a baby smothering the infant. Unfortunately, some SUID investigations have no clear cause of death. 

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome – SIDS 

According to government records approximately one-half of all SUID cases are determined to be SIDS deaths or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. SIDS is defined as the sudden, unexplained death of a seemingly healthy baby younger than one year of age that doesn’t have a known cause of death even after a complete investigation. Most SIDS deaths occur when babies are between one month and four months of age.1   

SIDS deaths are most often sleep-related hence the common term “crib death.” Most SIDS diagnoses finally come only after all other possible causes of death have been ruled out through a careful review of the infant's medical history, sleeping environment and an autopsy

Helping Prevent SIDS
 
There is no fail-safe way to prevent SIDS but parents, grandparents and caregivers can take nationally recognized preventive steps to reduce the risk of SIDS and other sleep-related causes of infant death.

  • Babies sleep most safely on their backs. Babies who sleep on their stomachs are at an increased risk of death. Therefore always start a baby’s sleep time on the back, even if the baby rolls over during the night as he or she gets older.
  • Always place a baby to sleep on a firm surface such as a mattress covered by a fitted sheet in a safety approved crib. Never place a baby to sleep on a soft surface like a couch, pillow, beanbag chair or a fluffy blanket. 
  • Never use crib bumpers or place soft objects or toys in a baby’s sleep area. 
  • When placing a baby to sleep always make sure that nothing covers the baby’s head.
  • Dress the baby in nightclothes that are appropriate for the room’s temperature. Do not use blankets.

Lastly, one must always balance the recommendation of a baby always sleeping on the back with giving the baby plenty of “tummy time” when awake. This will help the baby’s head, neck and shoulder muscles get stronger. 

Conclusion

Our VIRTUS® program is founded upon promoting awareness to ensure the protection of children and young people. SIDS preventive awareness—stressing babies only sleeping on their backs—first began in 1994 when the Back-to-Sleep campaign was launched by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics. Since then the SIDS rate in the United States has dropped approximately 50 percent. 

By promoting awareness regarding the prevention of SIDS to a parent, grandparent or trusted caregiver, our community broadens its reach to help protect infants and babies from a potentially dangerous sleep-related event. 

 

1National Institute of Child Health and Human Development - NICHD, U.S. Department of Health 

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