For this week’s assignment, we were asked to research different public health measures that impact children’s development all over the world. I chose to research sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). I chose this area of concern because there is so much uncertainty when it comes to this issue. Doctors and researchers are still unsure of the exact cause of SIDS but they are trying many different ways to prevent it from occurring.
SIDS is the unexpected, sudden death of a child under the age of 1 in which an autopsy does not show an explainable cause of death. In the United States, thousands of babies die each year. In looking at the data, the US has the highest SIDS rates worldwide. Babies between the ages of 2-4 months are most likely to die from SIDS. Most of these occur during the winter months, especially in January. I did not see a reason why this is, but I’m assuming it is because parents are more likely to have their babies under thick covers to keep them warm. It is known that politically, socially, economically marginalized, and often indigenous groups around the world experience significantly higher SIDS rates. Again, I’m assuming that this is due to the lack of prenatal care.
In Japanese, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, English, and Israeli populations, SIDS rates appear to be the lowest. The caregivers in these countries put their infants to sleep in the supine (lying on the back) position and most of the mothers breastfeed.
There are organizations (national and worldwide) currently trying to determine a cause for SIDS. However, with autopsy’s being so inconclusive, this is a difficult task. These organizations do offer suggestions on how to prevent SIDS from happening, such as placing an infant on their back while sleeping instead of on their stomach.
Learning about SIDS will help me in the future because I will know what not to do in order to keep my children out of harm’s way. I will also be able to share this information with other parents.
For more information, please visit
Ryan, SIDS is a very interesting subject and I am glad that you wrote about it. I hope that they will someday find a solution to this problem. It seems that no matter what people do with their infants there are still so many deaths occurring. It is interesting to hear that SIDS in those other countries are low. I would have thought that it would have been the same all around the world.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the information you found about SIDS. The US rate of SIDS is distrubing. I would have thought the US would be among the lowest. I think one way to help prevent SIDS is through education.
ReplyDelete