Sudden Infant Death Syndrome – Definition, Causes, Treatment

What Is Sudden Infant Death Syndrome?

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS is an unforeseeable crisis that is accountable for many deaths of children that transpires generally during the period of first to six months.

Babies are known to spend most of their time sleeping in their cribs and that is why Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is also usually known as crib death.

The cause of why it exists and the explanation of why it occurs are still unknown and unexplainable. The males largely have a higher risk of this occurrence compared to females and the predicament normally happens during the cool seasons.

Causes of SIDS

Most medical professional claims that they are still unfamiliar about what grounds usually result into the sudden death of children but they have come up with certain factors that make it risky for babies to end up that way. Here are some of them:

• Babies that have been given birth prematurely can result into a sudden death.
• Mothers that basically smoke all the time during the time of their pregnancy.
• Children that have suffered from getting an infection at their respiratory system after just mere weeks of being given birth.
• Babies that have been placed in their cribs on their stomach while sleeping.
• Being placed in a room that is too hot for any babies to survive.

The precise cause as to why SIDS arises might be unidentified, but there are probable list of causes that has been reported by health care professionals:

• Irregular changes that happens with how the immune system of the child works.
• Fluctuations when it comes to some of the neurotransmitters that is present in the brain.
• The inability to breathe properly when babies are awake and when they go to sleep.
• An unbalanced level of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the blood system that circulates in the whole body.

source – cdc.gov

Treatment

The first and foremost treatment that is suggested for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is through validating the existence of it in a child. This can be done through various diagnoses that can be scheduled inside a hospital.

Aside from this, upon the occurrence of a child passing away, parents should deliberate about seeking medical assistance as well. They should be well counselled that they should not be answerable and impugned by their child’s death.

They should seek out for any kind of health they could possibly get not just only from the medical professionals but also to people around them that can be considered as a support group. This includes their family as well as their relatives and friends. There are also many organizations that have been created to support parents who have suffered heartache from losing a child.

Prevention of SIDS

With the unknown cause as to why Sudden Infant Death Syndrome persists, there are many recommended things to do to alleviate it from happening. Here are some ideas that might be of service. For the duration of pregnancy:

• It is recommended that a steady prenatal checkup should be done upon hearing that they are pregnant.
• It is not advisable that pregnant women should drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes and use drugs that are not prescribed by the physician.
• Make sure that all the needed nutrition and vitamins is being taken every single day at an approved period of time.

Aside from these sanctions, there are also some preferable concepts advocated for women after they have given birth and already taking care of the baby.

Here are some of them:

• There is a condition that babies often experiences when their breathing stops for some period of time and then goes back to normal again. This should be reported to health care professionals immediately. If this happens, be sure to wake up the baby instantly, shake him/her awake.
• Do not abandon an infant in a smoke zone surrounding.
• A newborn often uses a lamp to keep them warm but then when they have come to a right age, parents should know that their child do not need to be constantly kept warm. This means it should the use of blankets that are too thick is not suitable.
• Most parents think that laying their baby on the crib on their stomach cannot harm their babies. This is not true. This can actually be a risk of babies that can experience SIDS. Be sure to put them to sleep on their back. This is called a prone position.
• The use of getting a stable and firm mattress can be of help as well. Do not make use of the big pillows that may fall right on the face of the baby and hinder their breathing.
• Mothers are indorsed to keep on breastfeeding their children until the age of 6 months.
• Ensure that they are able to follow the directions from health professionals about children getting their vaccines.
• Learn and properly train for CPR that can be very essential when worried about the event of SIDS.