Silent Nights - Stomach Sleeping & SIDS

Myth-Busters for Parents

My father-in-law, Tim, is a seasoned pediatrician.  A pastime which my husband and I have long enjoyed is what we refer to as parenthood “Myth-Busters”.  We’ll find a question or explore an old wives tale and then give Tim a call to learn the truth. Our conversations usually go something like this:

“My friend says I shouldn’t give my daughter anything with sugar until age six months.  What do you think?”

“Well,” replies Tim, “they say that she might not appreciate the natural sweetness in foods if she’s exposed to artificially sweetened foods too early.  But will it hurt her?  Probably not.”

We’ve asked about feeding, burping, diapering, medicines, and sleep patterns.  Often, the wives tales we have heard have some basis, but are not as strict and factual as people say. 

However, there are three big things that Pediatricians advise, which Tim has instructed us to be sure to follow. The first two are Do’s -

First, Do allow your new born to be screened for diseases: Many may be treated much more effectively at an early age - 

And Second, Do take your child to be vaccinated:  The risks of having a reaction to a vaccine are far less grievous that the risks of letting your child have the disease.

Straight From the Doctor’s Mouth

The third big question we had, the big Don’t, was about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS. He gave us a big DON’T to remember:

“Our son sleeps much more soundly on his tummy.” We observed aloud to Tim. “Do we need to worry about SIDS?”

“Well,” said Tim, “I wondered about that myself.” (As a parent, he had allowed all of his children to sleep as they pleased and of course, they turned out fine…)

“But then I saw the numbers in my own practice where the only common factor relating to death is that the babies slept on their stomachs.  It’s the number one killer of healthy babies under the age of 6 months.” Tim warned, “DON’T let your baby sleep on his stomach.  You need to be aware of SIDS.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics agrees, advising all parents to have their children sleep on their backs.  It is estimated that 5 live births out of 10,000 dies due to SIDS. It has been suggested that many babies sleep so soundly on their stomachs that they may forget to breath.

A study in October 2006 Journal of the American Medical Association states that brain abnormalities in some infants may cause breathing, blood pressure and arousal to be affected.  This could lead one to reason that while the location and position of a sleeping baby is not a sole factor in SIDS, where and how they sleep may create a higher risk situation for children who have these brain abnormalities. 

Taking the Safe Road

SIDS is still a mystery to the medical community. There is no real current understanding as to what the common thread in SIDS deaths might be. Though stomach sleeping hasn’t been proven indefinitely as a major cause of SIDS, it is a common factor in infant deaths, and believed to be the number one facilitator of SIDS. Wouldn’t you feel better if you took the “better safe than sorry” route with your own child? Isn’t it better to be on the safe side, and not allow your baby to regularly sleep on his or her tummy?

There are still other factors which are presumed to decrease the risk of SIDS, which include breast-feeding, reducing exposure to second hand smoke, and keeping loose bedding away from babies.  Recent studies show that using a pacifier may decrease the risk of SIDS as well.

Since SIDS is a silent killer and cannot yet be screened for, it’s important for parents to be extremely cautious when it comes to infant sleeping location and position. You, as the parent, are in control. Teaching your child to get in the habit of sleeping on their back can be a valuable safety and health precaution.  Besides, the whole family will sleep more restfully knowing that baby is as safe as can be.

Click here to read the Pacifier study
SIDS statistics on Wikipedia

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