WHAT IS SIDS? Cot death, SIDS, or Sudden Infant Death Syndrom, is defined as the sudden death of an infant that is unexplained either by the baby's history, a postmortem exam, or the examination of the scene of death. It is the major cause of infant death between the ages of two weeks and twelve months, claiming more than 6,000 lives a year in the US alone. Though it was once believed that victims were 'perfectly healthy' babies stricken suddenly without reason, researchers are now convinced that SIDS babies only appear healthy, and actually have some underlying defect - one that hasn't as yet been identified - that predisposes them to sudden death. The risk of the average baby dying of SIDS is very small - about 1.7 in 1,000. It's even lower for the majority of healthy babies. But it is higher for certain small groups of infants. At high risk are those who have survived a very serious life threatening event unrelated to injury or accident during which they stopped breathing, turned blue, and required resuscitation. (Babies who have had brief spells of apnea lasting under twenty seconds appear not to be at increased risk). At lesser risk, but still more susceptible than 'normal' babies, are small and/or premature infants, and those from multiple births. SIDS strikes males more often than females. The theory that the root of the problem may go back to antenatal foetal development is supported by the fact that babies of women who had poor antenatal care or who smoked during pregnancy, and possibly of smokers who had severe anaemia during pregnancy, are also at somewhat increased risk. Babies of young mothers (under twenty) are, too, but this may be as much (or more) because of the poor antenatal care as because of age. Suspicion that heredity is a major factor in SIDS hasn't been borne out by research, but there does seem to be a very slight increase in risk among siblings of SIDS victims, possibly because the same factors that contributed to the first event - poor medical care or maternal smoking, for example - are present during both pregnancies. Racial differences - SIDS occurs more often among blacks than whites, most often among native Americans and least often among Orientals - seem to point to a genetic factor. But it isn't clear whether these differences are partly or entirely due to economic inequalities and/or cultural differences, since SIDS is more common among the poor. There does not seem to be a correlation between SIDS and the use of anaesthesia or pain medication in labour, the length of first or second stages of labour, caesarean deliveries, urinary tract infections, vaginitis, or sexually transmitted diseases in the mother. It is very important to recognize that even in the highest risk group, only 1 in 100 will actually succumb to SIDS. And in the low- risk group, the risk is very small. A great deal of research is being done to try to determine just what it is that causes SIDS; it may turn out that there is more than one type of SIDS, each with a different cause, or that several factors combine to cause the syndrome. A leading theory is that delay in maturation of the brain stem predispose a baby to SIDS. Another is that over-heating is a factor in some cases. Still another suggests an occasional case may be related to child abuse. Recent studies in the U.K. point to sleeping face down, particularly on a soft surface, as a factor. Information is being collected on the characteristics that SIDS babies have in common (which include certain types of tissue changes and signs of unexplained asphyxiation) and on other common factors in the deaths (they are most likely to occur between the second and fourth months of life, at home, in the cot, more often in cold weather, and mostly between midnight and 8AM) ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- "Milis Bagi Orangtua Yang Menyayangi Balitanya" To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] HI-Reliability low cost web hosting service - http://www.IndoGlobal.com
