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 SIDS Facts
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Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden, unexpected death of an apparently healthy infant under one year of age that remains unexplained after the performance of a complete postmortem investigation, including an autopsy, an examination of the scene of death and a review of the medical history.
As a result of the national Back To Sleep Campaign, launched in 1994 as a joint effort between First Candle (then the SIDS Alliance), the American Academy of Pediatrics and National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, SIDS rates have declined by more than 50 percent. Despite this success SIDS remains the leading cause of death for infants one month to one year of age, continuing to claim the lives of more than 2,000 babies each year.
While SIDS occurs in all socio-economic, racial and ethnic groups, African American and Native American babies are two to three times more likely to die of SIDS than Caucasian babies.
- Most SIDS deaths occur when a baby is between 2 and 4 months old; 90% of all SIDS deaths occur before 6 months of age.
- Most babies that die of SIDS appear to be healthy prior to death.
- 60% of SIDS victims are male; 40% are female.
At this time there is no known way to prevent SIDS in all cases, but there are steps parents and caregivers can take to reduce the risk of sudden infant death. Modifiable risk factors for SIDS include:
- Stomach and side sleep positions
- Soft or loose bedding
- Inappropriate sleep environments
- Bed sharing
- Overheating
- Secondhand smoke
- Maternal alcohol and illegal drug use
Non-modifiable risk factors include:
- Male gender
- Age distribution: 2 to 6 months
- Low birth weight
- Prematurity
- Maternal smoking during pregnancy
- Young maternal age especially mothers less than 18 years old
- Late or no prenatal care
- Fall/winter season
- Higher parity
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