Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, most commonly known as cot death, contributes to a major percentage of death in babies under the age group 0-12 months. This terrifying condition happens while the baby is sleeping. To one’s dismay, no proper treatment or not even a good explanation of why this happens are not found out till day. No one could get a slightest clue as to why it happens to certain infants and not on others. In spite of all this, the fact remains that over 2,500 infants die in America per year from cot death.
During recent years there was a decrease in the number of infant deaths by approximately 40% thanks to the preventative measures adopted by health professionals all over the world. Discussed below are some sleep safety techniques which can protect the babies from cot death or SIDS. This being the situation, it is still unfortunate that no solution is found out yet to avoid this altogether.
Tips for Baby Sleep Safety
*Make sure that your baby sleep on her tummy as cot death is commonly reported in cases when she sleeps on her tummy.
*Give your baby a firm mattress to sleep on. Don’t buy fluffy toys or baby pillows which may cause suffocation.
*Infants generally have a higher body temperature than us and so they do not need so many blankets to cover them and cause overheating. But, you have to make sure that they are not too cold either!
*Avoid alcohol, drugs and smoking completely. Babies who are exposed to cigarette smoke have a higher chance of dying due to cot death.
*In case you are a first time parent, join parental care clinics to know more about proper child care techniques.
*Always prefer breast feeding to bottle feeding as breastfed babies are statistically more protected against SIDS.
*Give your baby a pacifier. Even though the exact reason is not known, generally infants that are given a pacifier during the first 12 months of life have less chances of SIDS.
*Make sure that you do not sleep with the baby or make him sleep in an adult bed as there is a chance of him suffocating to death then. Its fine to feed him in an adult bed but make sure you place him back into his bed after feeding.
Keep in mind that cot death is not a disease or syndrome. They can only be diagnosed once all the other possibilities that might have caused the death of the baby is dismissed.
Risk Factors: What are the risk factors and notable trends associated with cot death? How can the parents be cautious about infants in a high-risk category?
*Usually it is observed that boys are more prone to cot death than girls. There is not much we can do about this than just be aware of it.
*Alcohol, drug abuse and smoking are found to be the three main culprits behind cot death. So stay away from these three if you love your baby!
*Another major cause of cot death can be poor parental care. Make sure to get get early and frequent parental care checks in case you are a young parent or a first time parent. You will find things easier and manageable if you have the backing of friends and family. That will significantly reduce the risk of cot death.
*Also, premature babies are found to be at an increased danger of SIDS because they tend to be fragile and underdeveloped. There is not much we can do about this too than just to be aware of it.
*One more thing commonly observed is young mothers under the age 20 are at an increased risk of letting their child die from Cot Death. The reason for this may be accidental neglect or just plain inexperience from their side.
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