SIDS: Risk Factors and Preventative Measures
October marks SIDS Awareness Month. As part of this, the Safe to Sleep campaign is launching safe sleep social media parties from October 26-29, 2020. They also have a #safesleepsnap challenge to create awareness about safe infant sleep environments.
The SIDS Awareness initiative is all about educating all families on how to prevent SIDS through creating a safe sleep environment for infants. Understanding more about SIDS is essential to prevent it, cope with loss, and know how to support affected families. Here are some essential things you need to know about SIDS this month.
What Is SIDS?
SIDS, or sudden infant death syndrome, is the sudden death of a baby under one year which remains unexplained after an investigation. These deaths most frequently occur during sleep. Sleep related deaths, including accidental strangulation or suffocation, affect approximately 3,500 babies each year across the United States.
Doctors do not know what causes SIDS. Some clinicians theorize that SIDS is caused by a baby’s inability to arouse from sleep to regulate their breathing when it is disrupted. A baby’s sleep environment plays a big role in preventing sleep related deaths in infants.
What Are the Risk Factors for SIDS?
Much is still unknown about SIDS and its causes. However, there are some identified risk factors that are linked to higher frequency of SIDS.
- Secondhand exposure to smoke in their environment after birth
- Inadequate prenatal care
- Smoking, drinking alcohol, or use of illicit drugs during pregnancy
- Premature birth or a low birth weight
- Age, as infants between 1-4 months old are the most at risk
- Family history, such as past SIDS death of a sibling
- Sleep positioning on the stomach or side
- Sleeping on a very soft surface
- Overheating during sleep
- Sleeping with objects, such as blankets or toys
What Are the Preventative Measures for SIDS?
Experts at the American Academy of Pediatrics have created recommendations to prevent SIDS. They include the following:
- Regular prenatal visits and continued medical checkups for baby after birth.
- Room share by placing baby’s crib near the parents’ bed for at least the first 6 months of life.
- ABCs of safe sleep which are a pneumonic device to help remember 3 key recommendations: baby should sleep (A) Alone, on their (B) Back, and in a (C) Crib or other firm sleep surface.
- Right temperature in the baby’s room to avoid overheating. Baby’s head should be uncovered, and they shouldn’t be sweating or hot to the touch.
- Breastfeeding for those who are able and unless doctors have recommended otherwise.
- Pacifier use when putting to sleep, without a string attached.
How to Support SIDS Reduction Efforts
This month's events through the Safe to Sleep campaign are a great way to support awareness month. Their social media events have video discussions hosted by experts and a live chat for answering questions. These events run from October 26-29, 2020, and the recordings will be available to watch afterwards. Their public #safesleepsnap challenge is meant to encourage posting pictures of safe sleep environments.
Unfortunately, many factors make following recommendations difficult for some families. Lack of education about SIDS can prevent parents from knowing about risk factors. Economic disparities can prevent expecting mothers from receiving sufficient prenatal care. Some may have less control over their environment, including the smoking habits of others.
Those who want to support education and prevention efforts can support organizations that work to reduce SIDS and sleep related deaths. If you want to honor a baby that has passed, you can consider making a donation in the child’s name to a SIDS organization.
Resources for SIDS Tragedies
SIDS is a terrible tragedy for all families who have lost a baby. Families have many questions that are left unresolved about their infant’s death. Friends and family members of the affected family may struggle to know how to offer support and comfort to their loved ones.
The organization First Candle offers bereavement resources for families after experiencing a loss. For additional information and resources, go to the Safe to Sleep campaign, also available in Spanish as Seguro al dormir.
Creating a safe sleeping environment is the best known way to prevent SIDS and sleep related deaths. However, there is still a lot unknown about many of the factors involved. It’s important to remember that many families experience SIDS tragedies for a variety of reasons. We can offer all support and love to those who have experienced a loss from SIDS.
At Baby Merlin, we support all efforts to educate about safe sleep practices and prevent SIDS related deaths. Our Magic Sleepsuit is designed to be used with these safe sleep precautions in mind.
Also in Our Blog
What’s the Difference Between a Swaddle and a Sleepsack
Five Questions about Early Morning Wakeups for Baby
The team at NAPS helps you tackle the issue of early wakeups. *BONUS* NAPS is hosting a webinar on February 24th. Register here and use the extra-special code MAGICMERLIN and you can join the webinar FREE of charge!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The sound of cheery calls of “MAAAAMAAAAA” from the next room may be lovely at 7am. At 4am, or 5 am, not so much. Your baby may be up and ready to start the day, but you probably aren’t.
Answering the questions below may help you get there.
- Is your nap schedule mucking up your baby’s overnight sleep?
This might seem like an obvious question, but your baby’s sleep needs will change fast in the first few years of their lives. A quick look at the average nap number and duration might give you an idea:
- For babies from 3-6 months old, it’s normal to take 3-4 hour-long naps per day.
- For babies 6-15 months old, expect 2 naps with 3-3.5 hours of total sleep.
- For one and two-year-olds, you should expect a single 2-hour nap.
Part of the reason you might be seeing earlier wakeups is that your baby has graduated from one nap cycle to the next.
- Does your baby have enough time between their last nap and their bedtime?
We call this an “awake window,” and it can make a big difference. It might seem strange that your baby went to bed fine the night before, and you’re seeing a response to nap scheduling in the pre-dawn hours, but if your kiddo’s sleep is disrupted at night, it will impact the morning.
- 3-6 months, at least 1.5-2 hours between final nap wakeup and bedtime.
- 6-12 months, at least 2.5-3.5 hours between final nap wakeup and bed.
- 12-18+ months, 3.5-4.5 hours between final nap wakeup and bed.
- Is the room staying dark after the sun comes up?
Black 0ut curtains can make a big difference here. Remember that our brains signal wakeup when the light changes. So if dawn is at 430am, and even a little bit of light comes into your baby’s room, their little brains will PING with wake up juice.
- Is your baby going to sleep too early or too late?
It might seem counter-intuitive, but a late bedtime can actually backfire on you. Overtired kids don’t sleep as well. If you made their bedtime later and it didn’t fix the problem, try an earlier bedtime and see if that helps. You might be surprised.
- How do you make it better?
Try to make one change at a time; just one. Stick with that change for 3-5 days to see if it impacts things. (One night is usually not enough to see substantial change.) Be as consistent as you can with the change you made. For instance, if you decide to increase the space between bedtime and final nap wakeup, make sure to stick to the wakeup time you planned.
If your baby is waking up and chirping happily to themselves, feel free to leave them there for a little while. Let them get used to being alone in the crib. If you can, try to delay the start of the day by 5-10 minutes each day. This can make a big impact.
Everything else aside, remember that this is a short time in your kid’s life; as they get older, their sleep will become more regular, and so will yours. Don’t let yourself get too discouraged. Things are hard now, and you’re doing a great job.
