"new" sids risk

I know this has come up several times and even my doctor told me it was fine, but read in this months issue of baby magazine that it is NOT fine to let a baby sleep in any sort of sitting up position ie a carseat, carrier, bouncy chair...  They should be laying flat on their backs.  It said that the weight of their head can make it fall a bit over and cut of airways.  Just thought I'd share.  

[DaniWants1More]

omg that is scary...what about if they fall asleep in the car?  hmmmm

[ma2isiah]

I recently read a statistic that said for every 87 formula fed babies that die from SIDS only 3 breastfed babies die from SIDS.

Interesting... but I am not sure it could be true or you would think the campaign would be "Breastfeed your baby to sleep" instead of "Back to sleep".

I will have to do some research on that...

SIDS is such a scary thing. I had one of those angel care monitors because I was so paranoid. It helped me sleep a little better, but I still worried.

[kindergal]

We have bought two angel care monitors for our twins.....

[babyscience]

I have always wondered that.  When Ethan was really small I would pull over while driving to reposition his head if I saw it tilt.  I still worry and try to lift it back.  It just looks dangerous when they sleep that way so I wouldnt be suprised if a few babies have died because of it.  Add it to the never ending list of things not to do...

[peekawho]

Most hospitals do car seat tests on newborns who might be at risk for this...preterm or near term babies, babies with any sort of problem, etc.

Our hospital does car seat tests on all newborns.

The test involves sitting them in your car seat for 1/2 hour with an oxygen sensor on, to help detect if their blood oxygenation changes while in the seat.

[meiram]

I had a friend in grade school who's baby brother died while in the car seat.  That was over thirty years ago, and I don't know what car seats were like then.  Also, since I was so young, I don't recall if there were any other concerns with the baby's health.  I think I was overly paranoid when my dd was newborn b/c of this story, though.  I wouldn't let her sleep in the swing for very long and constantly had to check on her while in the car.  My husband probably thought I was nuts.  

[Fourpaws]

I always check on my daughter, regardless of where she's sleeping. I am neurotic! I always will feel her chest to see if she is breathing. My ped told me to relax because she is so healthy, a girl and wasn't born in the winter. I never knew your baby is higher risk if he is a boy and born in the winter??? Weird. I am not trying to scare anyone- thats just what I was told.

[GNicole]

My pediatrician actually told me that sleeping in a carseat is worse than letting your baby sleep on their belly. Which scared the **** out of me because Avery would only sleep if she was on her belly or in the carseat. I was a nervous, exhausted mess for a long time.

[vsentz]

OH NO!!! there goes another set of worries...

I have found out that Maddie (now 4 mo. old and can pick her head up no problem, and rolls back and forth.. no problem) only sleeps on her tummy!!!!!! in fact is the best sleep she gets! when she sleeps on her back she fusses every hour... but if i lay her on her tummy... she'll sleep  6 hours no problem! she also sleeps in car seats and swings... but i always make sure her head is not dropped to the side...

Is she safe now to sleep on her tummy? i mean, as soon as i put her down she ROLLS!! lol... lil stinker...

i also read that the peak age for risk of SIDS is 4 to 6 months?????  ahhh great.....

[pertykitty]

peek addison being a tiny preemie had that test and came through with flying colors.  i agree all babies should be tested though.  i watch baby stories or bringing home baby on tlc and i hate it when i see babies in their cribs sleeping on their boppys or other things that can cause their little heads to fall forward.  

[girliegrl1723]

not that i am trying to discount what you said above, but i think some clarification is needed for the numbers you are spewing out as fact because i think many a mom who couldn't or chose not to breasfeed their child, probably had a panic attack after reading what you wrote. it deserves further research before you start this "breastfeed to sleep" campaignof yours.

From what i have read, i think the numbers you are referring to re: deaths of breastfed babies v. formula fed babies are worldwide.

the numbers in the u.s.:

Total U.S. births in 1999: 4,000,000  
Total U.S. infant deaths in 1999: 28,000

20% Congenital abnormalities (birth defects) 5,500
16% Low birth weight and premature birth  4,500
10% Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)  2,700
8.5% Complications during pregnancy and birth  2,400
6%  Respiratory distress: lung collapse, influenza, pneumonia 1,750
3% Accidents (unintentional injuries)  850
2.5% Bacterial sepsis (infections) 700
2.4% Circulatory system diseases 650
1.4% Necrotizing enterocolitis 400
1% Intestinal inflammations (diarrhea) 300
0.3% Meningitis 100
0.3%  Cancer  100

this accounts for 70% of infant deaths in the us. the other 30% are undetermined, but not declaryed as 'sids'.  of the above infant deaths, sids accounts for about 10%.

from this - the last study -2003 - concludes that formula fed babies are 5 times more likely to die from sids than breastfed babies - but they don't know WHY. people have speculated it has to do with autoimmune antibodies and other related benefits of breastfeeding, but it is not proven why the numbers are they way they are.

this study also included other factors such as smoking, sleeping arrangements and overall infant health before death. it also doe snot specify for what period of time infants were breastfed, if they were exclusively breastfed and if the deaths came before or after the introduction of solids.

"Non-SIDS cases received more breastfeeding, the parents hardly smoked during pregnancy and after birth, a firm mattress had been used, and more often signs of illness had been reported by the parents, compared with the SIDS and borderline SIDS cases".

"Because SIDS occursless frequently in breastfed infants, it is speculated that breastfeeding protects infants against SIDS. However, scientific literature lacks uniformity in the definitions of breastfeeding (whether partial and exclusive). This specification is necessary to select control infants to elucidate the well documented substantial lower rate of incidence of SIDS in breastfed babies."

However - in agreement to your very vague declaration of breastfeeding reducing the risk of sids, i did find lots of articles supporting your opinion, as follows:

"SIDS is less common in breastfed babies for several possible reasons. One theory is that nerves around the respiratory control center may be better developed in breastfed babies because breast milk is rich in omega-3 fatty acids (especially DHA). These provide vital nutrients for myelin, the insulating sheath around nerves that help impulses travel faster. Breast milk is also kinder to tiny airways as babies are not allergic to mother's milk, and breast milk also contains immune boosters that fight against chest infection. Another perk is that gastroesophagel reflux (GER) -- which can often lead to stop-breathing episodes -- is less severe in breastfed babies. Finally, both experience and research has shown that breastfed babies sleep differently then bottle-fed ones. Breastfed babies awaken more frequently to feed, mainly because human milk is digested more quickly than formula. Could this easier arousability also "teach" babies to arouse from sleep when they have a need for air? Dr. James Mckenna, director of the Mother Baby Sleep Labatory of the University of Notre Dame has thoroughly studied arousability of breastfed babies, and has concluded that getting babies to sleep too deeply, too early, may not be in their best biological interest. In essence, sleeping deeper does not necessarily mean sleeping safer."

we also have to remember that formula advances every year and every year we get a little bit closer to being a better and better alternative to breatfeeding if brestfeeding is not possible.

i don't want to start a debate, you were just so short and matter of fact in what you worote up there and i think your statement deserved much more clarification before all these poor moms who are unable to breastfeed go out and throw themselves off a bridge because noe their baby is going to die.

and, just so everyone can have a reminder of what sids is exactly and the common practices to reduce your childs risk - please go to:

http: // www. parenting. com /article /Baby/ Health/ Ask-Dr.-Sears-SIDS-Risk-Baby. c o m

(take out the spaces-obviously)

[girliegrl1723]

nevermind the fact that this post was originally about the new carseat/swing/sleeping upright findings and not about breastfeeding or formula feeding. but im glad you felt the need to throw your two cents in there. i then felt compelled to throw in mine. sorry :o(

[ma2isiah]

You are right it was short and I did not do any research to back it up. I just said I recently read a statistic and was curious if it could really be true since I feel it is not mentioned as a reason to breastfeed or mentioned in the back to sleep campaign. Thank you for doing some research on the topic. I plan to do some more research. I was not trying to cause a debate or make anyone feel bad. I was just curious if anyone else had heard such or had anything to add. Thanks for addding.

[girliegrl1723]

no problem. your comment did actually peek my attention to the topic and i freaked out at first, thinking, omg - i didnt breastfeed, this could have happened to my baby! which is why i researched it further. i was suprised at the info i found and wanted to share. no problem!!! thats the point of this place - to share info and get opinions, right?

[ma2isiah]

The original post just reminded me what I had read that on a poster at a hospital recently. It reminded me because not many of us think putting our baby to sleep sitting up increases their risk for SIDS. We all think back to sleep, and our scared for tummy sleeping. When I saw the statistic of formula vs. breastfeeding same thing I never thought that the risk for SIDS was increased by formula feeding. It is not something my ped told me or something I saw on an advertisement or was told in the hospital. And I wanted to see if other people had heard that. I didn't mean it to be a debate. As I am sure the original poster wasn't trying to make people feel bad for letting their baby sleep in a carseat. Just sharing info. Again thanks for doing the research. If I find anymore info. I will post about it.

[ma2isiah]

I just reread your post. Formula fed babies are 5 times more likely to die of SIDS than breastfed babies. That is shocking to me. That seems very signficant. I am suprised that I have never heard that before. Have you heard anything like that mentioned by your ped or any SIDS info handouts? This not to freak anyone out or a post for judging others. I am interested in the facts.

[mami1323]

There is still so much to be learned about SIDS, they still don't know why it happens, or how it happens.  They don't even know how it's caused.  There could be numerous factors and not just one underlying cause.  I don't think we will ever know.  Who knows, tomorrow it could be that feeding them green beans causes it.  We just have to do what we can with the information that is out there.  

[girliegrl1723]

i totally agree with you. there are some people who do everything right - "by the book" - and still suffer tragedies wihile others who do everything "wrong" - have healthy children to this day. we just have to do what we feel is right - as mothers - and as you said - use the info that we have out there.

[mami1323]

I know, it's such a scary thought.  Just another thing for us psycho mommies to have to worry about.

[daisymomlove]

What I find that is weird about this whole thing is, they say lay them flat on their back right?  Well if you do that then if they spit up they're going to choke on it and sufficate.  My sister had her baby and in the hospital they laid the baby in a slightly elevated position on his back.  We were talking and he ended up spitting up he was chokeing bad!! So I'm not understanding as to why they say lay them flat???? Sids it doesn't matter what way you lay them or what you do if they get it then they're going to get it and nothing you can do can prevent it.  I've always laid both my daughters on their stomach on a very flat bed and I've never had any problems and neither has the many other people that I know.  I would never lay my child on their back flat down, my opinion sids is going to play it's course no matter what you do.  This is just my opinion and a fact

[tiredbuthappy]

the recommendations are based on statistics. i don't recall the specific numbers, but the incidence of SIDS drastically reduced once doctors started recommending putting babies on their backs. we have maternal instincts, but we may not have the anatomical and phisiological knowledge that scientists do. nor the statistics. that is why it is so important to educate ourselves.

[kjbutcher]

I wonder what causes the increase of sids with formula fed babies.  I am almost thinking that maybe it is the bottle vs the breast instead of milk vs forumla.  When you breast feed you hold your  baby the whole time and know exactly what is going on.  With bottle fed babies you can sit them down and prop the bottle up.  It is definately worth more research as to what the actual reason for this may be.

[Trialanderror]

I found this in Dr. Sears online documents regarding breastfeeding reducing the risk of SIDS. In a nutshell it says that breastfeeding prevents a lot of respiratory irritations, infections, lack of coordination during swallowing, spit-up and is said to create more alertness in infant and mother, creating neurological maturity. Basically anything that will reduce oxygen in the baby could be a risk factor, some of it prenatal, like maternal smoking or severe anemia. It makes sense to me...
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"THE MILK
1. Breastmilk fights against infection.
2. Breastmilk builds better brains.
3. Breastmilk is kinder to tiny airways.
4. Breastfeeding reduces reflux.
5. Breastfeeding promotes safer sleep.
6. Breastfeeding organizes baby.  

THE MOTHER
7. Breastfeeding increases mother's awareness.

THE METHOD
8. Breastmilk improves breathing/swallowing coordination. Newborns have to learn to coordinate breathing and swallowing during feeding. For premature infants (those at highest risk for SIDS), this is a gradual learning process. Studies show that premature babies who breastfeed coordinate sucking, swallowing, and breathing more efficiently than do their bottlefeeding mates. Breastfeeders also tend to feed more frequently than their bottlefeeding friends, therefore getting more practice coordinating their swallowing and breathing. Since tiny infants tend to have weak points in muscle support of their upper airways, their breathing passages are narrower, especially during sleep. Any exercise of the mouth and throat muscle is helpful in keeping the airways open. "

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[BabyHardiman]

I've always heard that SIDS starts with Mold spores being introduced into the baby's lungs.

[KB5874]

Back to sleep (IMO) is a very mislead slogan for SIDS. Sleeping on the back reduces the risk of suffocation. If the cause of death can be determined, and a reason found(suffocation from bumper pads for instance) then it is no longer classified as SIDS. SIDS is used to classify an "unknown" cause of death. Once the cause is found, it's no longer a SIDS death. Most of the cases related to SIDS have a list of common factors such as, the sex and race of the child, the maternal age, if the mother smoked, if the child was preterm, and a few others.