Reduce the Risk of SIDS

(Monroe County, Fla) – Each year in the United States, approximately 3,500 infants die of sleep-related infant deaths, including sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) provide clear recommendations for reducing the risk of SIDS and sleep-rated infant deaths. These include:

  1. To reduce the risk of sleep-related death, it is recommended that infants be placed for sleep on their back for every sleep by every caregiver until the child reaches 1 year of age. Side sleeping is not safe and is not advised.
  2. Use a firm, flat, noninclined sleep surface to reduce the risk of suffocation or wedging/entrapment.
  3. Feeding of human milk is recommended and is associated with a reduced risk of SIDS.
  4. It is recommended that infants sleep in the parents’ room, close to the parents’ bed, but on a separate surface designed for infants, ideally for at least the first 6 months. There is evidence that sleeping in the parents’ room but on a separate surface decreases the risk of SIDS by as much as 50%.
  5. Keep soft objects, such as pillows, pillow-like toys, quilts, comforters, mattress toppers, fur-like materials, and loose bedding, such as blankets and nonfitted sheets, away from the infant’s sleep area to reduce the risk of SIDS, suffocation, entrapment/wedging, and strangulation.
  6. Offering a pacifier at nap time and bedtime is recommended to reduce the risk of SIDS. Although the mechanism is yet unclear, studies have reported a protective effect of pacifiers on the incidence of SIDS. The protective effect of the pacifier is observed even if the pacifier falls out of the infant’s mouth.
  7. Avoid smoke and nicotine exposure during pregnancy and after birth. Both smoking during pregnancy and smoke in the infant’s environment after birth are major risk factors for SIDS.
  8. Avoid alcohol, marijuana, opioids, and illicit drug use during pregnancy and after birth. There is an increased risk of SIDS with prenatal and postnatal exposure to alcohol or illicit drug use.
  9. Avoid overheating and head covering in infants.
  10. It is recommended that pregnant people obtain regular prenatal care. There is substantial epidemiologic evidence linking a lower risk of SIDS for infants when there has been regular prenatal care.
  11. It is recommended that infants be immunized in accordance with guidelines from the AAP and CDC. There is no evidence that there is a causal relationship between immunizations and SIDS. Instead, vaccination may have a protective effect against SIDS.

For more information about swaddling, tummy time, and research related to SIDS and sleep-related infant death visit the American Academy of Pediatrics website (aap.org) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention website (cdc.gov). For information about how to request safe sleep equipment such as pack ‘n’ plays or swaddle sacks and how to receive breastfeeding education and support, visit the Florida Keys Healthy Start Coalition’s website (keyshealthystart.org).

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