Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS, is a frightening and confusing threat to an infant's life. While researchers have drawn correlations, assessed risk factors and ruled out some causes, it is still unclear why SIDS occurs. The prevalence of SIDS has decreased significantly with education, but it is still the leading cause of death in developed countries for infants in their first year of life, according to the Mayo Clinic website.
Prenatal Health and SIDS
A healthy diet and lifestyle during pregnancy are associated with a decreased risk of SIDS. The Mayo Clinic website reports that mothers who have low weight gain or anemia during pregnancy have babies who have a higher risk for SIDS. You can help prevent both low weight gain and anemia with a healthy diet and iron supplementation. Smoking while pregnant considerably increases the risk of SIDS, as does the use of recreational drugs like cocaine, methadone or heroin. Your dietary and lifestyle choices during pregnancy are the first step toward the prevention of SIDS.
Baby's Postnatal Diet and SIDS
What your baby eats once he's born may be more important than what you eat. According to the website AskDrSears, research that shows the risk for SIDS is three times higher in babies who are not breastfed. According to the website, breastfeeding mothers may take better care of their prenatal and postnatal health; in addition, breast milk provides additional protection from other SIDS risk factors like respiratory and gastrointestinal infections. Breast milk also contains healthy cholesterol, taurine and linolenic acid, which are crucial for the central nervous system's development, and healthy fats like DHA for myelination of the nerves. Deficient myelination has been found in babies who died of SIDS.
Lifestyle and SIDS
The way you live can decrease your baby's risk of SIDS. According to AskDrSears, there was an 80 percent drop in SIDS cases over five years in New Zealand after mothers were discouraged from smoking and putting babies to sleep on their tummies. Wearing your baby in a sling or baby carrier helps regulate your baby's neurological system and stabilize her heartbeat and breathing, all of which can reduce the risk of SIDS.
Other SIDS Risk Factors
Male babies and premature babies are more likely to die of SIDS than are full-term female babies.. Black, Native Alaskan and American Indian babies are more at risk than other ethnicities. Victims of SIDS usually die between 10 p.m. and 10 a.m. or during nap times. Babies are most at risk between 1 and 6 months of age. Being born during the fall or winter months. are recovering from an upper respiratory infection or are exposed to secondhand smoke are also more vulnerable.
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