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  • Harper Nash enjoys some tummy time with her mom, Bridget. Supervised tummy time helps a baby develop neck and shoulder muscles. (Staff Photo by BILLY HEFTON)

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March 13, 2010

SIDS: Still searching for reasons

By Kasey Fowler, Staff Writer Enid News and Eagle

ENID — Seemingly healthy babies suddenly die, leaving their parents to grieve.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome has no known cause, although researchers continue to search for a reason.

“SIDS is an unexpected death in an infant that we can find no pathologic cause so it is an unknown death,” said Dr. Michael O’Quin, with Northwest Pediatrics of Enid. “If we can find a specific cause, it is not SIDS. There is a lot of research trying to figure it out what causes it. It is probably a multi-factor cause.”

SIDS is the leading cause of death for infants between one month and 12 months, according to “A Parents’ Guide to Safe Sleep” from American Academy of Pediatrics, but there are steps parents can take to help reduce the likelihood of SIDS.

“The single biggest factor that has helped is keeping the baby on their back. That helped reduce the number of SIDS a great deal,” O’Quin said. “They should sleep on their backs. Research shows the lowest risk position is on the back for SIDS.”

According to “A Parents’ Guide to Safe Sleep,” about one in five SIDS deaths occur while an infant is in the care of someone other than a parent. Many of the deaths occur when babies who are used to sleeping on their backs at home are placed by another caregiver on their stomachs to sleep, in what is called unaccustomed tummy sleeping. Unaccustomed tummy sleeping increases the risk of SIDS 18 times.

Besides putting an infant down to sleep on its back, there are other factors that may reduce the risk for SIDS.

“We like the bedding to be firm, usually a sheet is all that is needed in the crib. We don’t like lots of blankets in the bed,” O’Quin said. “We don’t want the room to overheat. The room temperature that you are comfortable at is adequate. The room does not need to be kept very warm. Avoid smoking in the house, that seems to be a risk factor.

“Moving air is good. The circulating air is going to keep the baby cool, too, whether it is a ceiling fan or a small portable fan. It doesn’t have to be blowing on the baby. That is a single study, so it is not confirmed, but it seems harmless enough.”

Although babies should not be on their backs while they sleep, they do need “tummy time” while supervised and awake to help build strong neck and shoulder muscles.

“When they are awake that is not an issue,” O’Quin said. “We like to put them on their fronts when they are awake to stimulate development. We want them on their backs while they are sleeping until they can easily roll over on their own and then the risk drops greatly.”

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