Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: Causes and symptoms

The exact causes of SIDS are still unknown, although studies have shown that many of the infants had recently been under a doctor's care for a cold or other illness of the upper respiratory tract. Most SIDS deaths occur during the winter and early spring, which are the peak times for respiratory infections. The most common risk factors for SIDS include:

• sleeping on the stomach (in the prone position)
• mother who smokes during pregnancy; smokers are as much as three times more likely than nonsmokers to have a SIDS baby
• the presence of passive smoke in the household
• male sex. The male/female ratio in SIDS deaths is 3:2
• belonging to an economically deprived or minority family
• mother under 20 years of age at pregnancy
• mother who abuses drugs
• mother with little or no prenatal care
• prematurity or low weight at birth
• family history of SIDS

Most of these risk factors are associated with significantly higher rates of SIDS; however, none of them are exact enough to be useful in predicting which specific children may die from SIDS.

MEDICAL DISORDERS. Currently it is not known whether the immediate cause of death from SIDS is a heart problem or a sudden interruption of breathing. The most consistent autopsy findings are pinpoint hemorrhages inside the baby's chest and mild inflammation or congestion of the nose, throat, and airway. Some doctors have thought that the children stop breathing because their upper airway gets blocked. Others have suggested that the children

— Teresa Norris, RN