Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is exactly as the title describes. Your perfectly healthy appearing infant suddenly is removed from your life while sleeping. The result is a family torn apart after the loss of their infant who had just recently been held in their arms full of the promise of a new life to live out.
Any SIDS story is such a sad story to hear, and as parents and concerned people we want to research it more and find out everything we can do to help prevent any more lost babies. I’ll cover some very simple measure you can take as a parent to a newborn baby to reduce your infant’s risk of suffering from this detrimental syndrome.
One of the most common and well-known tips to prevent SIDS is to place your infant to sleep on their back. Since infants prefer their tummies often, the back laying position does not send them into as deep of a sleep as when they are lying on their tummies. While this position may lead to an increase in night waking and a more difficult time getting your child to sleep, the chances of SIDS occurring is lower so the disadvantages are worth it. Always lay your baby on their back to sleep. Swaddling can help your child sleep better on their back if they seem to be struggling to sleep soundly.
Another great tip is to keep your child’s room cool. The temperature should never be above 73 degrees. In a warm room your infant can fall into a very deep sleep and a deep sleep is often when SIDS occurs. A cool room keeps your infant more alert as they sleep and prevents overheating as well.
Even a pacifier inserted in your infant’s mouth while sleeping has been proven to prevent SIDS. A pacifier keeps a constant feeling in your infant which prevents your baby from falling too deeply into a sleep. Even though in previous years pacifiers have had a bad reputation, many pediatricians have now Ok’d their use during sleep. This is a huge relief for many parents who have felt guilty for using a pacifier with their child.
Another great sleep technique that has proven to lessen the likelihood of SIDS occurring is having the infant lay in a bassinet or crib next to the mother. The closeness of the two bodies helps the infant regulate their breathing and helps the two be more aware of the other. The mother can feel any stress the infant may be under and the close bonding is a healthy sign for both mother and child.
One last tip to help prevent SIDS from occurring in your family is to nurse your baby, and to especially be nursing your baby during the night. The more often your baby awakes, the less their chance is of suffering from SIDS. This is because their body remains more alert throughout the night and they may not fall into a deep enough sleep to cause SIDS. While this may not be as convenient for the mother, preventing SIDS is so important, and the infant stage passes so quickly, that the inconvenience is far worth the results.
As a mother of two young children who plans to have more children, I have taken SIDS very seriously in my household. We practice all of the above rules, and I would highly recommend every family with infants would. Children are a precious gift from God and as a parent we have the utmost responsibility to them in their infant years.
