Preventing Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

MAT-SU -- With approximately 20 percent of all births in the state happening in the Valley, this upcoming year will surely bring some couples' dreams of having a baby come true.

While there are countless joys that come with bringing a child into the world, there are also countless worries: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is especially scary because there is no way of knowing which babies may die of SIDS.

Thirty-eight children died of SIDS in the state between 1998 and 2000, and an estimated 3,000 children die of SIDS in the United States each year. The National Institutes of Health recently published some guidelines to lower the risk of SIDS; most importantly, children less than 1 year of age should be placed on their backs to sleep.

Other guidelines include:

Place your baby on a firm mattress, such as in a safety-approved crib.

Remove soft, fluffy and loose bedding and stuffed toys from your baby's sleeping area.

Make sure your baby's face and head stay uncovered during sleep.

Do not smoke around your baby.

Don't let your baby get too warm during sleep.

Make sure everyone who cares for your baby knows to place your baby on his or her back to sleep.

Dr. Duane Alexander is the director of the NIHS National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. In 1994, NICHD launched the Back to Sleep campaign to educate parents about the risks of SIDS.

"A number of studies have shown the importance of educating parents and caregivers about continuing to put infants to sleep on their backs throughout the first year of life," said Dr. Alexander.

Since the campaign began, SIDS has decreased by 50 percent.

For more information about reducing the risks of SIDS, contact the Back to Sleep campaign at 1-800-505-CRIB.

Other benefits:

Placing an infant to sleep on his or her back not only lowers the risk of SIDS; new research findings are showing that sleeping on his or her back can be good for a baby's health in other ways, such as:

Reduces risk of fever.

Reduces risk of a stuffy nose.

Reduces risk of ear infections.

Did you know that?

SIDS is the leading cause of death in babies after 1 month of age.

Most SIDS deaths happen in babies between 2 and 4 months.

More SIDS deaths happen in colder months.

Babies placed to sleep on their stomach are much more likely to die of SIDS than babies placed on their backs to sleep.

American Indian babies are more than three times as likely to die of SIDS than Caucasian babies.

African American babies are more than twice as likely to die of SIDS than Caucasian babies.