Reduce the risks of SIDS

Even though most caregivers agree on the importance of safe infant sleep practices, many of them may not know what to do — or not do — to prevent sleep-related deaths from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

“Parents have good intentions but may not understand that blankets, quilts and pillows increase a baby’s risk of SIDS and accidental suffocation,” says researcher Carrie K. Shapiro-Mendoza, a senior scientist at the CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health in Atlanta.

SIDS is the leading cause of death among infants between the ages of one and 12 months and, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, claims about 2,500 lives each year in the United States.

To learn more about SIDS, visit the Web site of the American Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Institute at www.sids.org.

Baby’s most dangerous day

Incidents of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) have dropped since 1994 when parents and caregivers were first taught to put infants on their backs to sleep. But there is still one day of the year when SIDS surges by 33%.

Beware this deadly threat to your infant

Many parents encourage it, but this one nighttime activity causes more than 5,000 infant deaths each year. Here are a few ways to lessen the risk.

More than half of babies in the U.S. are sleeping in dangerous beds

A great deal of research has looked into why some infants die from SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) or suffocate while sleeping. But many parents still let baby sleep in dangerous conditions.