Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS): Overview
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden, unexpected death of an infant in the first year of life. SIDS kills 3,000 babies each year, a disproportionate number of which are African-American. In general, African-American babies are three times as likely as white children to die from SIDS. The cause of SIDS is not fully understood.
Recently, scientists devised a new theory regarding SIDS. These researchers suspect that babies who have a brain stem abnormality, which prevents their alarm and arousal reflexes from working properly when they are sleeping, are more likely to die of SIDS. This abnormality may prevent the baby from waking when it is unable to take in oxygen.
In October 2002, a study funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders revealed that sleeping on the stomach increases an infant's risk of suffering SIDS. According to researchers, the Chicago Infant Mortality Study is the most comprehensive and conclusive study ever conducted by U.S. researchers on the risk of SIDS.
-- Article Courtesy of InjuryBoard.com
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