SIDS Physical Factors

Knowledge is power. For more information about SIDS and how parents and caregivers can reduce the risk, visit the following online resources: The National SIUD/SID Center (www.sidscenter.org) The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (www.nichd.nich.gov) The American Academy of Pediatrics (www.aap.org) The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (www.cpsc.gov) First Candle/SIDS Alliance (www.firstcandle.org) Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood Program (www.sudc.org) Your local state and county Child Health and Welfare office. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Learn More: What You Should Know About SIDS... Infant Health and Wellness The Safe to Sleep campaign formerly the Back to

There are many factors that can influence the heath and development of babies in the first year of there life some factors can occur in the antenatal period before the child is born, some perinatal during the birth and some postnatal after the birth.

SID, or Sudden Infant Death, has previously thought to be random. Recently a study has been published showing a link between a idiosyncratic genetic mutation that affects very few people and SID. SCN4A showed up in 4 of 278 babies whose death was caused by SID. The mutation is rare and could possibly contribute to SID.

The brain is the most complex thing on earth. Even the brain of a baby which weighs less than one pound is extremely complicated. When we are a baby our brain is a universe of meaning; it is where the emotions, memories, ideas, and dreams evolve and change over the lifetime. Baby Elizabeth who was born three months before she was expected was a healthy premature baby but her brain was not fully prepared. Most premature babies survive but nearly half have difficulty paying attention, learning, planning, and even prioritizing as they grow up. What happens with premature babies is that they are more hypertensive and easily over stimulated. Automatically when the baby comes out of the womb the brain reacts to all the stimulation and in the case

Several studies have suggested that PDA occurs in premature babies due to the lungs being underdeveloped and poor metabolizers of prostaglandins. Other risk factors that may be associated with an infant having a PDA is a positive family history of cardiac defects and genetically linked conditions like Down syndrome. Maternal infection with German measles during pregnancy can cause damaging effects to the fetal heart and circulatory system and put the infant at greater risk of acquiring a PDA. Studies have also shown that children born at higher altitudes have an increased susceptibility of having a PDA.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome remains the leading cause of post-neonatal mortality (under the age of one) in developed countries. The causes of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome have been puzzling and research is being conducted to solve this catastrophic problem. Having a child under the age of one makes me very concerned, along with any other parent(s), that the possibility of SIDS could affect any infant at anytime, SIDS does not discriminate. I am seeking to find the possible causes to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome so in the future deaths could be avoided.

These conditions make newborns are at risk because Infants have more skin surface per pound of body weight than older children or adults, more skin means more radiant heat and more insensible water loss. Less brown fat and glycogen stores decreased ability to maintain flexion increased body surface area compared to weight.

          In the Western world, SIDS is the most common cause of death for infants between two weeks and one year of age, but SIDS also occurs throughout the world. SIDS most commonly happens during sleep, although it can occur anywhere, such as in baby carriages, safety car seats, or

     When putting it all together the number of lives births each year, SIDS remains the leading cause of death in the United States among infants between one month and one year of age and second only to congenital anomalies as the leading overall cause of death for all infants less than one year of age.

It was important to this group that people would have a definition of SIDS that

Infants born from mothers that smoked are three times more likely to die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), a condition in which babies who appears healthy die suddenly while sleeping, as are babies whose mothers do not smoke during pregnancy. This is also a point of contention between researchers as well. "Children born to mothers who smoked while pregnant, and possibly children whose grandmothers smoked while pregnant, have a higher risk of developing childhood asthma (Child)." Women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to be born with birth defects such as cleft lip or palate and to have low birth weight.

A study from American Academy of pediatrics have shown that co-sleeping can increase the chance of sudden infant death syndrome. The study was based off a child death report database, they divided the database on age, sleep position, and location. Their results came back that from 2002- 2012 sixty-nine

The first and most researched sleep disorder is sleep apnea. Sleep apnea does not affect children as often as it effects adults, but it is still a rising concern. Sleep apnea occurs in about 2 per cent of children, mainly between the ages of one through eight. But it can also show up in older children and even infants. (Klein). Research says that young blacks are more at risk than young whites. (Fritz p 83). Children with sleep apnea briefly stop breathing many times during the night due to an obstruction in the respiratory tract. Most of the time it is related to enlarged tonsils and adenoids or to obesity. As the child will gasp for there breath during sleep, they awaken for a few moments to regain there normal breathing and then they immediately return back to sleep. Because the child will be awoken by this many times during the night, this cause sleep deprivation. (Common Sleep Problems AA). The physical symptoms of sleep apnea are excessive daytime sleepiness, snoring, restless sleep, heavy and irregular breathing, excessive perspiring during the night, bad dreams, sleeping with there mouth open, sleeps in strange positions, morning headaches, learning problems, excessive irritability, depression, changes in personality, difficulty

Even though apnea is a limited of time issue and the neonates grow out of it is still a severe issue. There are number of arguments to why premature neonates have apnea from not fully developed brain and weak airway muscles. Other stresses that can worsen apnea in a sick premature; feeding, anemia, heart with lung problems, infection, low oxygen levels, overstimulation and body temperature regulation issues.

could have a low birth weight. When the baby has a low birth weight, common problems are: