I don’t have to imagine how wonderful it feels to put your baby in bed and watch him sleep. I have done it hundreds of time. Standing by the crib I would pray,
“Thank you, God, for sending us this little angel; please, help me to be a good dad.”
But, I can’t imagine how awful it would be to find your beautiful baby, dead in his crib. Yet in 1993 the parents of 4,700 babies came face to face with just such a tragedy. The good news is the incidence of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) fell every year since 1993, and in 2010 only 2063 families felt it’s pain. This year fewer than 2,000 will die of SIDS. But to the parents of those babies, and to all of us, that number is still way too high.
SIDS is the number one cause of death in infants under the age of one year. A diagnosis of SIDS is given when no explanation can found for the baby’s death after a complete postmortem investigation.
While the exact “cause” is not known, there are several factors which increase the risk. Maternal smoking, drinking, or using other street drugs during pregnancy doubles or triples the risk, pre-mature birth, second hand smoke, sleeping on a soft surface or with others (parents or siblings), are all considered risks; risks which parents can control.
But in the early 1990s researchers found that babies who slept on their tummies had at least twice the risk and in some studies as much as 12 times the risk of sudden infant death. In 1994 The American Academy of Pediatrics instituted the “Back to Sleep” program recommending parents put their babies to sleep on their backs.
American parents were quick to pick up this change, sometimes in opposition to the advice they received from their own parents. The result was that between 1993 and 2010 the percent of infants placed to sleep on their backs increased from 17% to 73%, and the number of infants dying from SIDS decreased from 4,700 in 1993, to 2,063 per year as of 2010. What a remarkable feat by the parents who listened to their pediatricians.
Many grandparents were concerned that the babies would develop a flat head from back sleeping, and many did. The solution to that problem is to place baby on a safe hard surface (not a large soft adult bed) while awake and let them play, do push-ups, and look around. Lying on a blanket on the floor or clean carpet is a great experience for everyone regardless of age.
It’s still important to avoid the risk factors mentioned above. Doing so will further decrease the risk of facing the horror and heartbreak of SIDS.
A great big thanks to the AAP for their insight into this horrible problem and to all the parents who were wise enough to follow their advice!