SIDS by Baby’s Age Infographic (Text Alternative) | Safe to Sleep® (2024)

FAQs

What are 3 other things to consider to reduce the risk of SIDS or other sleep-related hazards? ›

Here's how parents can help reduce the risk of SIDS and other sleep-related deaths: Get early and regular prenatal care. Place your baby on a firm, flat mattress to sleep, never on a pillow, waterbed, sheepskin, couch, chair, or other soft surface. Cover the mattress with a fitted sheet and no other bedding.

SIDS is less common after 8 months of age, but parents and caregivers should continue to follow safe sleep practices to reduce the risk of SIDS and other sleep-related causes of infant death until baby's first birthday. More than 90% of all SIDS deaths occur before 6 months of age.

The Safe to Sleep® campaign (also available in Spanish) focuses on actions caregivers can take that can help keep baby sleeping safely and reduce the risk of SIDS.

The authors hypothesize that in such cases, SIDS deaths are more likely to occur when three elements converge: a critical period (an early period in the development of the brain activity governing heart and lung function), an external stress (such as sleeping face down), and an underlying vulnerability (an abnormality ...

After 6-months old, babies are typically able to lift their heads, roll over, or wake up more easily, and the risk of SIDS decreases dramatically. However, 10% of SIDS happens between 6 and 12 months of age and safe sleep recommendations should be followed up to a baby first birthday.

Even though the thought can be deeply unsettling, experts agree that there aren't any warning signs for SIDS. And since SIDS isn't diagnosed until after an infant has died and the death has been investigated, you can't catch SIDS while it's happening and stop it, for instance, by performing CPR.

SIDS is the sudden and unexplained death of an infant between the ages of 1 month and 1 year old that doesn't have a known cause, even after a complete investigation.

The truth is that home cardiorespiratory (heart and breathing) monitors (e.g., Owlet) do not reduce the risk of or prevent SIDS.

In the last 20 years, SIDS incidence has dropped by more than 50%, partly due to the "Back to Sleep" campaign [34]. Relative to the 3500 newborns that die every year in the U.S. from sleep-related reasons, including sudden infant death syndrome, a black baby dies in Indiana every 13 hours (SIDS) [6].

Why does back sleeping reduce SIDS? ›

Compared with infants sleeping on their backs, babies who are placed on their stomachs sleep more deeply, are less reactive to noise, experience less movement, and are less able to be aroused. All of these characteristics are believed to put infants at higher risk of SIDS.

Are there any theories about why SIDS occurs? While the cause of SIDS is unknown, many clinicians and researchers believe that SIDS is associated with problems in the ability of the baby to arouse from sleep, to detect low levels of oxygen, or a buildup of carbon dioxide in the blood.

Black/African American and American Indian/Alaska Native babies are at higher risk for SIDS than are White, Hispanic, and Asian/Pacific Islander babies.

When does the risk decrease? Around 89% of SIDS deaths happen when a baby is six months old or less. The most vulnerable period is under 3 months but it is important to follow safer sleep advice until your baby is 12 months old.

Place your baby to sleep in the same room where you sleep but not the same bed. Do this for at least 6 months, but preferably up to 1 year of age. Room-sharing decreases the risk of SIDS by as much as 50%. Keep the crib or bassinet within an arm's reach of your bed.

Keep your baby's sleep area (for example, a crib or bassinet) in the same room where you sleep, ideally until your baby is at least 6 months old. Keep soft bedding such as blankets, pillows, bumper pads, and soft toys out of your baby's sleep area. Do not cover your baby's head or allow your baby to get too hot.

Place babies on their backs to sleep for naps and at night.

It is not safe to place babies on their sides or stomachs to sleep, not even for a nap. The safest sleep position is on the back. Babies who sleep on their backs are at lower risk for SIDS than babies who sleep on their stomachs or sides.

Make sure your baby's head remains uncovered during sleep. Do not put your baby to sleep on a waterbed or beanbag. Tummy play is safe and good for babies when they are awake and an adult is present, but never put your baby on her tummy to sleep. Put your baby on her back to sleep.