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What New Parents Need to Know About SIDS

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the unexplained death of a baby less than one year old. It’s also known as “cot death” or “crib death” because most of these deaths are associated with sleep.

SIDS is the leading cause of death among babies between 1 month and 1 year of age. In 2015 in the U.S., there were about 1,600 infant deaths from SIDS — 1,200 due to unknown causes and about 900 due to accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed — according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

If SIDS is happening, your baby may not show many signs of trouble. If he or she is in another room, you may not hear your baby struggling — even if you have a baby monitor.

New parents often don’t know what SIDS is, or how to prevent it. Thankfully, most deaths from SIDS are preventable. Let’s take a look at what you can do.

3 Ways to Prevent SIDS: Follow the ABCs

The U.S. has a higher rate of SIDS than countries that don’t have prevention campaigns. Here’s what you and your family can do to prevent SIDS:

First, follow the ABCs of SIDS prevention:

  • Alone: Don’t have your baby sleep with you in your bed. Your baby should sleep alone, but in your room.
  • Back: Put your baby to sleep on his or her back.
  • Crib: Have a crib or separate bed for your baby and keep it in your room.

4 More Steps for SIDS Prevention

Second, once you’ve got your ABCs down, follow these precautions:

  • Breastfeeding your baby, and putting your baby to sleep with a pacifier for the first year of his or her life, can prevent SIDS.
  • Don’t smoke, drink or use illegal drugs. If you’ve passed out from drinking or using drugs, you won’t know if your baby is struggling to breathe.
  • Keep blankets and toys out of your baby’s crib. Toys and blankets and other soft items can lead to choking, smothering or strangling. Cribs themselves don't cause SIDS, but the baby's sleep environment can influence sleep-related causes of death.
  • In winter, dress your baby in layers of clothing for warmth while sleeping.

Learn more about SIDS by reviewing the resources and advice available in Tanner’s Health Library and the Safe to Sleep website funded by the National Institutes of Health. To find a pediatrician to help you prevent SIDS, call Tanner’s free, 24-hour physician referral line at 770.214.CARE (2273) or select Find a Doctor.

Tanner Healthcare for Children, a Tanner Medical Group practice, is located in Carrollton. For more information, visit TannerHealthcareForChildren.org or call 770-834-0606.

Children's Health Care




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