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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffAlthough sudden infant death syndrome can strike any infant, researchers have identified several factors that may increase a baby's risk. At higher risk are babies who are:
- Male. Boy babies are more likely to die of SIDS.
- Between 1 month and 6 months of age. Infants are most vulnerable during the second and third months of life.
- Premature or of low birth weight. Your baby is more susceptible to SIDS if he or she was premature or had a low birth weight.
- Black, American Indian or Native Alaskan. For reasons that aren't well understood, there appears to be an association between race and the risk of SIDS.
- Placed to sleep on their stomachs. Cultural differences in child care practices — such as whether babies are placed to sleep on their backs — may be a factor. Babies who sleep on their stomachs are much more likely to die of SIDS than are babies who sleep on their backs. At highest risk are babies who are used to sleeping on their backs and are suddenly switched to stomach sleeping. At one time, doctors recommended stomach sleeping because babies rest more soundly in that position. But it's now known that stomach sleeping greatly increases a baby's risk. Side sleeping — because infants placed on their sides are likely to roll to their stomachs — and soft bedding have also been found to contribute to risk.
- Born to mothers who smoke or use drugs. Smoking cigarettes during or after your pregnancy puts your baby at considerably higher risk of SIDS. Using drugs such as cocaine, heroin or methadone while you're pregnant also increases the risk.
- Exposed to environmental tobacco smoke. Infants exposed to secondhand smoke have a higher risk of SIDS.
- Born during the fall or winter months. More SIDS cases occur when the weather is cooler.
- Overheated. Some evidence suggests that babies who are overdressed, covered with multiple blankets or whose rooms are too warm are at greater risk of SIDS, especially if they're put to sleep on their stomachs.
- Recently recovered from an upper respiratory infection. Evidence of infection within four weeks of death is a common finding in SIDS autopsies.
- Siblings of a baby who died of SIDS. The extent of the risk increase is unknown, but probably small. Genetic disorders, such as prolonged QT syndrome, may be involved.
Also at risk are babies whose mothers had:
- Inadequate prenatal care
- Placental abnormalities — such as placenta previa, a condition where the placenta lies low in the uterus, sometimes covering the opening of the cervix
- Low weight gain during pregnancy
- Their first pregnancy at younger than 20 years of age
- Anemia
- History of sexually transmitted diseases or urinary tract infections
References
- 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.
