Facts about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

Although the number of deaths from SIDS has decreased in recent years, about 2,500 babies die from SIDS each year. Children’s National has a team of researchers, doctors, and staff committed to learning more about SIDS and educating parents about ways to reduce the risk of SIDS. 
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• More boy babies die from SIDS than girls.
• African American babies have a 2-3 times greater risk of dying from SIDS as Caucasian babies.
• Back sleeping is the safest sleep position for infants under 1 year of age.
• About 75% of babies who die suddenly and unexpectedly die while they are sleeping in the same place (couch, armchair, bed) as another person.
• SIDS is not the same as suffocation, but both can happen when the baby is asleep.

Facts about SIDS in the DC Area

• Infant mortality rate is 15 deaths per 1,000 live births (twice the national rate of 7.1)
• SIDS rate is also double the national rate (approximately 120 per 100,000 live births each year)

In 2006:

• 9 babies died from SIDS in DC
• 90 babies died in Virginia
• 64 babies died in Maryland

Reducing the Risk of SIDS

Follow these tips to reduce the risk of SIDS for infants:

Positioning

• Babies should always sleep on their back.
• Place baby on his/her back to sleep at night time and naptime.
• Babies shouldn’t sleep on their side. They may roll to face down position.

Cribs

• Every baby should sleep in his/her own crib.
• Place baby on a firm mattress in a safety approved crib.
• Remove all fluffy and loose bedding from the sleep area. The only thing in the crib should be the baby.
• Make sure baby’s head and face stay uncovered during sleep.
• Use blanket sleepers instead of blankets during colder months.

Room sharing

• Babies from birth to age 6 months should sleep in the same room with their parents.
• Babies should not sleep on the same sleep surface with their parents.
• Bring the baby into your bed for cuddling and feeding, but return the baby to his/her crib when you are ready to go back to sleep.

Other tips

• Temperature in home should be 68-72 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter and 70-85 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer.
• Don’t let baby get too warm during sleep.
• Use pacifiers at naptime and bedtime during the first year, but not during the first month for breast-fed babies.

• Rachel Y. Moon, MD

 Download SIDS tips now
 Video: Educating Parents about SIDS: Rachel Moon, MD, discusses safe sleep practices for infants on CNN (Feb. 2009)
 Article: Children’s SIDS Expert Featured in the Washington Post (Jan. 2009)
 Article: Why is SIDS more common in African-American populations? (Children's Check Up Newsletter, Winter 2009)
 Article: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (Medical Currents, Summer 2008)
 Join clinical trials on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
 Sudden Infant Dealth Syndrome (SIDS) Research
 Related clinical programs managed by the Goldberg Center for Community Pediatric Health