Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS is medically defined as “the unexpected and sudden death of an apparently normal and healthy infant that occurs during sleep and with no physical or autopsic evidence of disease. It is the most common cause of death in children between 2 weeks and 1 year of age, with an incidence rate of 1 in every 300 to 350 live births.” Mosby’s Medical Dictionary, 3rd edition, pg. 1129
Western medicine attributes SIDS to a plethora of causes including lack of biotin in the diet, abnormality of the endogenous-opiod system, mechanical suffocation, a defect in respiratory mucosal defense, prolonged apnea, an unknown virus, anatomic abnormality of the larynx, and immunoglobulin abnormalities.
Causes and Risk Factors
In August 2011, the National Library of Medicine posted these causes and risk factors to its website:
- Sleeping on the stomach
- Being around cigarette smoke while in the womb or after being born
- Sleeping in the same bed as their parents (co-sleeping)
- Soft bedding in the crib
- Multiple birth babies (being a twin, triplet, etc.)
- Premature birth
- Having a brother or sister who had SIDS
- Mothers who smoke or use illegal drugs
- Being born to a teen mother
- Short time period between pregnancies
- Late or no prenatal care
- Living in poverty situations
Alternative health experts and practitioners attribute SIDS to a certain gas or fume released from the materials used in baby mattresses.
Another alternative or unorthodox health practitioner reason or cause of SIDS is babies suffocating from regurgitating synthetic milk formulas.
And then there are infant vaccination and inoculation serums as a causative factor of SIDS.
Symptoms
Because SIDS is instant, there are no symptoms.
Healing Preventatives
Guidelines for helping prevent SIDS include:
- NEVER give a child under 12 months old honey. It can cause infant botulism, which may be associated with SIDS.
- Back sleeping is strongly encouraged. Avoid letting the baby sleep on its side or stomach
- Only let babies sleep in a crib or bassonnette, never in the bed with parents or older children.
- Allow babies to sleep in the same room as the parents for the first six to eight months. Notice this says the same room, not the same bed.
- Avoid soft bedding materials such as pillows, comforters and quilts.
- Maintain a comfortable room temperature. Babies shouldn’t feel hot to the touch.
- Offer the infant a pacifier at naps and at bedtime. There is a school of thought that the pacifier helps keep the airway open.
Mothers should not fear losing a baby to SIDS as this will activate a negative energy.
New mothers should rely solely on breastfeeding as mother’s breast-milk is always accepted by the baby’s body and babies do not choke on natural mother’s milk which is programmed with good intent and maternal love.
If breastfeeding isn’t an option, there are alternative natural baby formulas that promote infant health instead of detracting from it (as is commonly found in processed, store-bought infant formulas).
Vincent Stevens is the senior content writer at Dherbs. As a fitness and health and wellness enthusiast, he enjoys covering a variety of topics, including the latest health, fitness, beauty, and lifestyle trends. His goal is to inform people of different ways they can improve their overall health, which aligns with Dherbs’ core values. He received his bachelor’s degree in creative writing from the University of Redlands, graduating summa cum laude. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.
