SIDS: Reducing the risk

May 21, 1999
Web posted at: 11:17 AM EDT (1517 GMT)

In this story: What is SIDS? RELATEDS

By Michele Bloomquist

(WebMD) -- Sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, is among the greatest fears of parents with newborns. SIDS is the leading cause of death in children 1 month to 1 year old. In the United States, 5,000 to 6,000 infant deaths are attributed to SIDS each year.

Although doctors still don't know what causes SIDS, the number of cases in the United States has dropped by nearly 43 percent since 1992, when the National Institutes of Health initiated the "Back to Sleep" public-awareness campaign and provided guidelines for reducing the risk.

What is SIDS?

According to the American SIDS Institute, SIDS is defined as the sudden and unexpected death of an apparently healthy infant, whose death remains unexplained after an autopsy, investigation of the scene and circumstances of the death, and exploration of the medical history of the infant and family. SIDS is a classification that describes an infant whose death cannot otherwise be explained. It is not a disease, nor can it be a diagnosis for a living baby.

Parents who want to reduce the risk of losing a child to SIDS can turn to the revised recommendations released in April, 1999, by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development:

RELATEDS AT :

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
Back to Sleep
SIDS Rate Drops as More Babies Are Placed to Sleep on Their Backs or Sides

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