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Prevention
By Mayo Clinic staffThere's no guaranteed way to prevent SIDS, but you can help your baby sleep safely. Recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics include the following:
- Put your baby to sleep on his or her back. Both the American Academy of Pediatricians and The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urge you to place your baby to sleep resting on his or her back, rather than on the stomach or side. This isn't necessary when your baby's awake or able to roll over both ways without your help. Because a baby's head is still soft and pliable, some newborns develop a flattening of the back of the head from sleeping on their backs, but in most cases, the flattening is harmless and easily treated.
- Be sure your baby is placed to sleep on his or her back when in the care of others. If your baby is used to sleeping on his or her back, it's especially important to avoid switching to the stomach position. Don't assume that others will place your baby to sleep in the correct position — insist on it. Advise sitters and child care personnel not to resort to the stomach position to calm an upset baby.
- Don't smoke. A smoke-free environment is especially important during pregnancy and in your baby's first year of life.
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Select bedding carefully. Use a firm mattress, rather than a waterbed or beanbag. Avoid placing your baby on thick, fluffy padding, such as lambskin or a thick quilt. These may interfere with breathing if your baby's face presses against them. For the same reason, don't leave pillows, fluffy toys or stuffed animals in your infant's crib.
To keep your baby warm, try a sleep sack or other sleep clothing that doesn't require additional covers. If you use a blanket, make it lightweight. Tuck the blanket securely at the foot of the crib, with just enough length to cover your baby's shoulders. Then place your baby in the crib, near the foot, covered loosely with the blanket. Don't cover your baby's head.
- Place your baby to sleep in a crib or bassinet — not in your bed. Adult beds aren't safe for infants. A baby can become trapped and suffocate between the headboard slats, the space between the mattress and the bed frame, or the space between the mattress and the wall. A baby can also suffocate if a sleeping parent accidentally rolls over and covers the baby's nose and mouth.
- Keep your baby nearby. Consider keeping your baby's crib or bassinet in your room at first. Infants who sleep in the same room — though not in the same bed — as their mothers have a lower risk of SIDS.
- Consider breast-feeding. Some research indicates that breast-fed babies are at lower risk of SIDS.
- Offer a pacifier. Sucking on a pacifier at naptime and bedtime may reduce the risk of SIDS. One caveat — if you're breast-feeding, wait to offer a pacifier until your baby is 1 month old and you've settled into a comfortable nursing routine. If your baby's not interested in the pacifier, try again later. Don't force the issue. If the pacifier falls out of your baby's mouth while he or she is sleeping, don't pop it back in.
- Moderate room temperature. Keep the temperature in your baby's room at a level that's comfortable for you, not warmer than normal. If your baby is sweating around the neck or face, it probably means he or she is too warm or has a fever or illness. When this happens, use fewer covers — not more.
Some parents feel more secure when their newborn's heart rate and breathing are monitored electronically; however, monitoring is unlikely to prevent SIDS deaths.
- What is SIDS? U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.www.sidscenter.org/documents/SIDRC/WhatIsSIDS.pdf. Accessed April 30, 2009.
- Moon R, et. al. Sudden infant death syndrome. Lancet. 2007:370:1578.
- Vennemann M, et al. Does breastfeeding reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome? Pediatrics 2009:123:e406.
- Baruteau A, et al. Role of congenital long-QT syndrome in unexplained sudden infant death: Proposal for an electrocardiographic screening in relatives. European Journal of Pediatrics. In press. Accessed May 6, 2009.
- Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). American Lung Association. http://www.lungusa.org/atf/cf/%7B7a8d42c2-fcca-4604-8ade-7f5d5e762256%7D/ALA_LDD08_SIDS_FINAL.PDF. Accessed April 30, 2009.
- Sudden infant death syndrome fact sheet (SIDS). American Lung Association. http://www.lungusa.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=2060727&content_id={DD8EAC73-1371-4129-9D82-0220D296D5E9}¬oc=1. Accessed May 7, 2009.
- Task force on sudden infant death syndrome. Policy statement: The changing concept of SIDS. Pediatrics. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/116/5/1245. Accessed April 30, 2009.
- Bacon C. Recurrence of sudden infant death syndrome. Pediatrics. 2008:122;869.
- Blair P, et al. Head covering - a major modifiable risk factor for sudden infant death syndrome: A systematic review. Archives of Disease in Childhood. 2008;93:778.
