Sudden infant death syndrome means the unexpected and inexplicable death of an infant under one year of age, often occurring between the ages of two and four months. Researchers do not know what causes sudden infant death syndrome, although mechanisms regulating the body’s metabolism, such as blood pressure, breathing and body temperature of the baby, are involved. Sudden infant death syndrome is also more likely to occur among children of mothers under the age of 20Since there is no answer to the cause of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), this problem seems very scary. This syndrome is the leading cause of death in infants between one month and one year of age, killing 2,500 infants in the United States each year. Despite years of research, this syndrome is still not predictable.
However, the risk of this syndrome can be greatly reduced. The first and most important point is that children under one year old should be put to sleep on their backs – never on their backs.
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As the name of sudden infant death syndrome suggests, it can be understood that this syndrome causes the sudden and unknown death of infants under one year old. This is a very scary aspect because it occurs without warning and usually in healthy children. Most deaths from this syndrome are related to sleep (so it is usually called “death in bed”), and there are no signs of pain in babies who die from this syndrome.
While most serious conditions and diseases are diagnosed due to the presence of specific symptoms, most diagnoses of sudden infant death syndrome are only made when all other possible causes of death have been investigated through the examination of the infant’s medical history, sleep environment, and autopsy. . This review helps distinguish deaths due to this syndrome from deaths due to accidents, abuse, and previously undiagnosed diseases such as cardiac or metabolic disorders.
When you think about which babies are most at risk, there is no single factor that causes death from this syndrome. Instead, several factors together can put a baby at risk of dying from sudden infant death syndrome.
Most deaths due to sudden infant death syndrome occur between the ages of two and four months, and this happens more often in cold weather. African-American babies are twice as likely to die from this syndrome than Indian and European babies, but Native American babies are three times more likely to die from this syndrome than Indian and European babies. Compared to female babies, male babies are more victims of death due to this syndrome.
Other possible risk factors include:
Smoking, drinking alcohol and using drugs during pregnancy
Improper parental care of the baby
Premature baby or low birth weight
Mother’s age is under 20 years
Exposure of the baby to tobacco smoke after birth
Excessive heat of pajamas and bed sheets
Sleeping on the stomach
Sometimes, in certain circumstances, such as when a premature baby is exposed to the aforementioned factors, the possibility of the baby’s sudden death increases.
According to the reported statistics, SIDS syndrome kills babies under 6 months, especially between 2 and 4 months. Although the cause of this syndrome has not yet been fully clarified, it can be prevented to a large extent by following some safety tips.
The following recommendations will greatly help fathers and mothers to reduce risk factors:
– Avoid sleeping the baby on the stomach (in palm position) and always sleep him on the back (open arch).
– To sleep the baby, use medical and standard mattresses that have a smooth and firm surface.
– If you sleep the baby next to you, keep your distance from him to prevent your body parts from unconsciously falling on him during the night.
– Keep soft items such as loose toys, woolen and fabric dolls, and soft and loose pillows that may fall on the baby’s nose and mouth and prevent him from breathing, away from the baby.
– Make sure that the pacifier you use for the baby is clean and dry.
– Avoid keeping the baby in the car seat, carrier or cradle for a long time.
According to the new announcement of the National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD), the probability of “Sudden Infant Death Syndrome” increases in the winter season. The reason is that when it’s cold, parents use a lot of clothes and thick blankets to warm the baby and overheat the baby’s room. While one of the risk factors of SIDS syndrome is the excessive heat of the environment around the baby. Therefore, parents should be careful that even in the winter season, the temperature of the child’s room should be at a balanced level (about 26 degrees Celsius) so that an adult can feel comfortable and relaxed at that temperature. Also, the baby’s blanket should be light and thin, and parents should be careful to pull the blanket only up to the baby’s chest and prevent it from falling on his nose and mouth.
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