SIDS

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS); can be the worst heart rendering dilemma that a newborn can experience – it is defined as when a baby dies in the first year of life from no apparent cause. The actual causes of SIDS are still unknown till the date today, but in SIDS death, the baby’s recovery mechanism isn’t developed (if deprived of oxygen) and thus the baby is unable to rouse himself if his breathing becomes obstructed; especially when the infant is sleeping with face down.

The risk of being victimized by SIDS can not be proactively predicted or diagnosed although the occurrence of SIDS deaths has decreased in the last 10 years. Creating a safe sleep environment for the baby is the best recommendation that helps in preventing SIDS.

As per the baby’s first year, mothers ought to put their babies to sleep on their backs. Else if you are positioning them to sleep on their sides, make sure that they should be positioned with one arm forward to keep them from rolling over on their stomachs. Soft foam wedges can be purchased for this purpose.

Make sure your baby’s face isn’t blocked – avoid loose, soft and fluffy bedding. Be cautious to not to overheat your baby by over-wrapping or dressing him in too many layers.
Make sure that you do not smoke nor let any one smoke around the baby.

Some of the monitoring systems that can alert you if the baby stops breathing are stated below: You need to be conscious if you observe any one of them:-

1. If the baby has had any life-threatening episodes, such as turning blue, or an episode requiring mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
2. If the baby had elder sibling/s who died of SIDS.
3. If the baby’s birth was premature

Make sure to keep get your baby routine checked up to make sure his lungs are fully developed and to maintain all immunizations.