Baby Bedding Safety and SIDS
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SIDS is the leading cause of death for babies between the age of 1 month to 1 year old, and is diagnosed for 2,500 infant deaths every year in the United States. What causes SIDS is a mystery, but some doctors think that baby bedding may play a role.
We may never know for sure, but it's important that new parents understand the risks of improper baby bedding use. Here are the most important considerations when bringing home your baby from the birthing room:
1. Put your baby to sleep on his/her back on a firm mattress.
2. Make sure there are no soft pillows, baby blankets, or stuffed animals around in the crib.
3. If you do use a baby swaddle or a wearable blanket, make sure your baby does not get too warm. Overheating is one possible cause of SIDS.
4 . Keeping the crib or bassinet in the same room as parents is linked to a lower rate of SIDS deaths too.
5. Put your baby to sleep with a pacifier for the first year.
There are more important considerations, but these are crucial because they are often overlooked. Smoking around the baby is another no-no, but I'd hope parents know that in this day and age!
- NICHD Article on SIDS
An important article on SIDS prevention by the National Institute of Child Health and Development. - More Baby Bedding Safety Tips
A more thorough article on baby bedding and its relationship to SIDS.
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Comments
There is actually NO DEFINITIVE INFO on pacifiers and SIDS...it's a "blue elephant", if you will. Statistically, a greater number of babies die of SIDS without a pacifier in their their mouths than WITH a pacifier, so some researchers have said, ""Pacifiers obviopusly help prevent SIDS!"...which is abjectly ridiculous. Nonetheless, SIDS remains a mystery that robs families of their precious loved babies, of which ours is one. I doubt that pacifiers are the solution, as a matter of fact I am sure they are NOT the solution, but any attentiojn at all drawn to this topic is good.
My heart goes out to ALL families suffering the loss of an infant/child, regardless the cause. Losing a child is more brutal than anything else I could have endured as a parent.
Much love and many blessings,
A fellow grieving parent...LorrieB.
thanks for correcting me on this... it's hard to separate facts from myths sometimes.
kudlee says:
15 months ago
I'm curious about this one: "Put your baby to sleep with a pacifier for the first year." How does that help prevent SIDS?