Decline in SIDS deaths plateaus; safe sleep habits urged

Child care experts are reminding providers and parents about the importance of safe sleep habits when it comes to preventing Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. The rate of SIDS has leveled off in recent years after a trend of decline.

SALT LAKE CITY – After dropping for years, the rate of <a href=”http://bit.ly/Zvda8p” target=”parent”>Sudden Infant Death Syndrome</a> (SIDS) in the United States has stayed somewhat level for some time. So, experts are again reminding parents and child care providers about the importance of safe sleep habits.

Child-care educator Cory Woosley said babies always should sleep on a firm mattress with a fitted sheet – and on their back.

“If you think about their head and not being able to pick it up, and their face being into the mattress – particularly if you don’t have a firm mattress and the baby’s face is down in there and they can’t lift their neck,” she said. “That would probably be our number one concern: suffocation.”

Woosley also advised that everything be out of the crib except the baby – no pillows, blankets, toys or crib bumpers. However, she said, it is acceptable for the baby to use a pacifier.

“Pacifiers are okay. A lot of providers, a lot of parents think the baby could suffocate with a pacifier. A pacifier actually keeps the baby’s little mouth moving and can be a preventative toward SIDS,” Woosley explained.

Parents should also schedule regular checks on sleeping babies, she said, and babies should nap in cribs – not in a car-seat, on a couch or in an adult bed.

Since 1990, the SIDS rate in the U.S. has declined by more than 50 percent, but it is still the leading cause of death for babies one year and younger, with about 2,500 SIDS victims each year.

More information is available at <a href=”http://bit.ly/Zvda8p” target=”parent”>www.sidscenter.org</a>.

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