Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (Print Version)

Also called: Also called: Crib death, SIDS

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden, unexplained death of an infant younger than one year old. Some people call SIDS "crib death" because many babies who die of SIDS are found in their cribs.

SIDS is the leading cause of death in children between one month and one year old. Most SIDS deaths occur when babies are between two months and four months old. Although health care professionals don't know what causes SIDS, they do know ways to reduce the risk. These include

Placing babies on their backs to sleep, even for short naps - "tummy time" is for when babies are awake and someone is watching
Using a firm sleep surface, such as a crib mattress covered with a fitted sheet
Keeping soft objects and loose bedding away from sleep area
Making sure babies don't get too hot - keep the room at a comfortable temperature for an adult

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Start Here

SIDS Q & A(First Candle/SIDS Alliance) - http://www.firstcandle.org/expectantparents/exp_reduce_qa.html
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sleep/sids.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/parent/en_espanol/general/sids_esp.html
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)(National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) - http://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/Sudden_Infant_Death_Syndrome.cfm

Overviews

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/sudden-infant-death-syndrome/DS00145/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
What Is SIDS?(National Sudden Infant Death Resource Center) - Links to PDF - http://www.sidscenter.org/documents/SIDRC/WhatIsSIDS.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://www.sidscenter.org/documents/SIDRC/QueEsSMIS.pdf

Latest News

Mom's Smoking May Lead to SIDS(04/01/2009, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_82415.html
Breastfeeding Linked to Reduced Risk of SIDS(03/02/2009, Reuters Health) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_81229.html

Prevention/Screening

Crib Safety and SIDS Reduction(Consumer Product Safety Commission) - http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/cribsafe.html
Safe Sleep for My Grandbaby: Reduce the Risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)(National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) - Links to PDF - http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/upload/safe_sleep_grandbaby.pdf
Safe Sleep for Your Baby: Ten Ways to Reduce the Risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)(National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) - http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/safe_sleep_gen.cfm
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID): Reducing the Risk(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/SIDS/ReduceRisk.htm

Coping

After Sudden Infant Death: Facing Anniversaries, Holidays, and Special Events(National Sudden Infant Death Resource Center) - Large PDF file - http://www.sidscenter.org/documents/SIDRC/FacingAnniversaries.pdf
Death of a Child, the Grief of the Parents: A Lifetime Journey(National Sudden Infant Death Resource Center) - http://www.sidscenter.org/Bereavement/LifetimeJourney.html?fromparent=parent&id=4&heading=DeathOfAChild
Friends & Relatives(First Candle/SIDS Alliance) - http://www.firstcandle.org/whenababy/when_cop_fr.html

Related Issues

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome(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
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and Vaccines(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/sids_faq.htm
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and the Child Care Provider(Maternal and Child Health Bureau, First Candle/SIDS Alliance) - Links to PDF - http://www.firstcandle.org/FC-PDF3/sids%20&%20child%20care%20provider.pdf

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Sudden Infant Death(National Institutes of Health) - http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/term=%22sudden+infant+death%22

Research

Fewer Babies Die of SIDS As Parents Heed Warnings(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/research/sids_drop.html
Research on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)(National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) - http://www.nichd.nih.gov/womenshealth/research/pregbirth/sids.cfm

Journal Articles

References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Article: Sleep environment risk factors for sudden infant death syndrome: the... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19336376&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Does breastfeeding reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome? - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19254976&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Sleeping position, oxygenation and lung function in prematurely born infants... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19240293&tool=MedlinePlus
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=sudden+infant+death[majr]+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+(jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt]+OR+review[pt]+OR+guideline+[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus

Directories

When a Baby Has Died(First Candle/SIDS Alliance) - http://www.firstcandle.org/whenababy/whenababy.html

Organizations

American Academy of Pediatrics - http://www.aap.org/
First Candle/SIDS Alliance - http://www.firstcandle.org/
Also available in Spanish http://www.firstcandle.org/enespanol/index.htm
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development - http://www.nichd.nih.gov/
National Sudden Infant Death Resource Center - http://www.sidscenter.org/

Statistics

FastStats: Infant Health(National Center for Health Statistics) - http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/infant_health.htm

MedlinePlus Magazine

Your Wake-Up Call - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/magazine/issues/summer07/articles/summer07pg17-19.html

You may also be interested in these MedlinePlus related pages:

Bereavement - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/bereavement.html
Children and Teenagers - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/childrenandteenagers.html

The primary NIH organization for research on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development - http://www.nichd.nih.gov/