What is sudden infant death syndrome?
Sudden infant death syndrome is the main cause of infant death under 1 year. Sudden infant death syndrome is difficult to master, because it is not a simple disease, but is used to express the sudden death of infants under 1 year old, and the cause of death cannot be determined by comprehensive medical investigation and legal investigation (including autopsy). Sudden infant death usually happens suddenly without any warning, which brings great pain and blow to the family.
Sudden infant death is also called "cradle death" because most sudden infant deaths occur during the infant's sleep, usually from 10 at night to 10 in the morning.
But sudden infant death doesn't just happen at night. If you send your baby to the nursery, you need to pay great attention. According to a study published in the American Journal of Pediatrics in 2000, 20% of sudden infant deaths occurred in nurseries. If you consider that babies sleep much less in day care than at home, this figure will be surprisingly high. Therefore, you must make sure that the baby care institution will let the baby sleep on his back and follow the safe sleep instructions.
What are the causes of sudden infant death?
No one knows for sure the cause of sudden infant death. In the past 30 years, researchers have learned a lot about sudden infant death, but there is still no clear answer to its causes. Many experts believe that the causes of sudden infant death include infants with potential malformations (for example, brain defects that affect breathing) sleeping on their stomachs, or being affected by adverse external environment such as second-hand smoke during the critical period of production. Experts have been studying the brain, autonomic nervous system, infant care and sleeping environment, infectious diseases, immunity and heredity to find out the causes of sudden infant death.
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How to prevent sudden infant death syndrome? Eight reasons are easy to cause convulsions. How to prevent sudden infant death syndrome?
There is no perfect way to prevent sudden infant death, but you can do the following things to greatly reduce the risk of sudden infant death:
1, let the baby sleep on his back.
This is the most important thing you can do to protect your baby. Since 1994, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the US Department of Health Services, the American Sudden Infant Syndrome Federation, Sudden Infant Syndrome (SIDS) and the Infant Mortality Project Association jointly launched the "supine sleep" activity, the incidence of Sudden Infant Syndrome has dropped by 40%. You should make sure that other people, such as relatives and nannies, know that you can't let your baby sleep on his stomach.
Most people don't know that sleeping on your side is not safe. In fact, your baby is twice as likely to die suddenly when sleeping on his side as when lying on his back. This is because if you let the baby sleep on his side, he will easily turn over and sleep on his stomach. Of course, when the baby is five or six months old, he can turn over on his own. At this time, it is not easy for you to keep him sleeping on his back. At this stage, the baby's risk of sudden infant death also begins to decline. You just need to let the baby lie on his back as much as possible, and don't worry that he will turn over on his own.
But remember, if you always let your baby sleep on his back, it may cause the baby's back or side head to flatten, which is called migraine or flat head syndrome. When sleeping, you can learn how to put your baby on the bed and avoid tilting your head. If you have any questions about your baby's sleeping posture, please consult a doctor or nurse. In addition, don't let the baby stay in the car safety seat or baby's music chair for too long, because this may also lead to head tilt. When the baby is awake, let him have enough time to lie down, which will help the baby's muscles develop better.
2. Pay attention to the health care of yourself and your baby during pregnancy.
In order to ensure the baby's health and reduce the risk of premature and low birth weight infants (which will increase the incidence of sudden infant death), it is necessary to pay attention to health care and nutrition during pregnancy. Never smoke or take illegal drugs during the whole pregnancy.
3. Don't let your baby smoke secondhand smoke.
Let the air around the baby be smoke-free at home, in the car and other environments. If you think you can't quit smoking, go outside and let other family members do the same.
4. Carefully choose your baby's bedding.
Let the baby sleep on a stable, flat mattress, don't use pillows, and the sheets should be able to tighten the mattress and not loose. Don't put plush toys or other soft things on the crib. If you must cover the baby with a quilt, cover the baby's chest with a thin blanket and roll the other three sides under the mattress. If you think your baby is cold, put warm clothes on him, such as pajamas with foot covers, or put him in jumpsuits and put them in a baby's (sleeveless) sleeping bag "(a sleeveless pajamas with the bottom sealed like a bag).
5, to avoid overheating baby
Avoid overheating when the baby sleeps, don't wrap him too tightly, and don't cover his head with a blanket. The room where the baby sleeps should not be too warm, as long as adults wearing light clothes feel comfortable. Signs that the baby may be overheated include sweating, wet hair, rash, shortness of breath, restless sleep and fever.
6, avoid contact with the source of infection
Sudden infant death sometimes occurs due to respiratory or gastrointestinal infections. So it's best to let others wash their hands before holding the baby. And try to avoid baby contact with sick people.
Which babies are more prone to sudden death?
Although there is no exact answer to the cause of sudden infant death, some high-risk factors can be identified at present, including:
1. One of the parents or caregivers smokes.
Studies show that the more people smoke at home, the more people smoke every day, and the longer the baby is exposed to second-hand smoke, the greater the risk of sudden infant death.
Step 2 sleep on your stomach
Research shows that if the baby sleeps on his stomach, the proportion of sudden death is higher than that of sleeping on his stomach 1.7% ~ 12.9% (according to different research conditions, the data are not completely consistent). Betty, executive director of the American Institute of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome? McEntire said that when a baby sleeps on his stomach, it is more likely to cause overheating, apnea, and re-inhale the air he just exhaled, thus increasing the carbon dioxide content in the body. In addition, some studies have shown that if the baby is used to sleeping on his back and then sleeping on his stomach, the probability of sudden infant death will be greatly improved. Some experts believe that this is the reason why the rate of sudden infant death in kindergartens is relatively high.
3. Premature birth or low birth weight.
The earlier the baby is born, the higher the risk of sudden infant death. Similarly, the lower the birth weight, the higher the risk of sudden infant death.
4, overheating when sleeping
There is ample evidence that overheating will greatly increase the risk of sudden infant death. Warren, an expert on sudden infant death syndrome and a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington in Seattle, USA? GunSoras said that the causes of overheating may include: too high room temperature, wrapping or covering the baby with too many blankets, covering the baby's head with blankets, or having a fever.
5. The sleeping place is too soft
Some studies have found that sleeping in a soft place increases the risk of sudden infant death. It is unsafe for babies to sleep on soft objects such as waterbeds, beanbag chairs, sofas, quilts and duvets. Like sleeping on your stomach, soft places can also increase your baby's chances of breathing problems and overheating.
6. The mother smoked or abused drugs during pregnancy.
Almost all studies on the causes of sudden infant death emphasize that smoking by mothers during pregnancy is a risk factor. Obviously, smoking and taking drugs during pregnancy are harmful to the baby's healthy development.
7. The mother was less than 20 years old when she was pregnant.
Babies born to mothers under 20 also increase the risk of sudden infant death. In addition, the shorter the interval between two pregnancies, the higher the risk of sudden infant death.
8. Suffering from an obviously life-threatening situation.
If your baby has stopped breathing, looks pale or blue, is weak and needs rescue, it is also likely to die suddenly.
9. Gender factor
The risk of sudden infant death of boys of all ethnic groups is slightly higher than that of girls, which is 1.5 ~ 1.
Can breastfeeding prevent sudden infant death?
There is no conclusive evidence that breastfeeding itself can reduce the risk of sudden infant death. But breastfeeding does help to reduce the probability of respiratory and gastrointestinal infections, which (as mentioned above) often occur at the same time as sudden infant death.
Sudden death of a healthy baby
Outside the emergency room in the early morning, I can occasionally see such a scene.
A mother rushed in with her baby in her arms and asked the doctor to save the child who had lost her breath and her hands and feet were cold.
"When I woke up, TA didn't breathe. I really don't know what happened ... "Her face was always shrouded in confusion and fear, until the moment when the doctor told the child that she had left, everything turned into a deathly pale despair.
The child is dead. Why? Whose fault is this? This will be a lifelong nightmare for the mother and her family.
First, the terrible sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
Only the first question can be answered here. Why do babies die for no reason?
In medicine, this phenomenon of sudden infant death without warning during sleep is called Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). SIDS is actually rare, the incidence rate is not high, and the incidence rate of male children is more than that of female children. But it has a chilling horror: the reason is unknown and there is no warning.
At present, the cause of sudden infant death syndrome is not clear. Some experts believe that this is because there are some defects in the baby's physical quality. At an accidental moment, some inducing factors (such as overheating and sleeping) played a role, leading to sudden infant death. Therefore, it is impossible to predict in advance through examination, and it is impossible to confirm the baby's onset performance. By the time the parents find out that the baby is abnormal, TA has generally gone to another world. For such a terrible SIDS, once parents encounter it, they are basically powerless.
Second, which babies are prone to sudden death and how to avoid them?
Seeing this, parents may be a little scared, afraid that their baby will come to an unexpected trouble one day.
Actually, there is no need to panic. Although the reason is not clear, parents can prevent sudden infant death by understanding the inducing factors:
1, lie down and sleep. Poor breathing when a baby sleeps on his stomach may lead to apnea, which may lead to sudden death. The only sleeping position recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics is sleeping on your back. Although there may be a situation of "sleeping on your stomach", as the baby grows up, the head shape will gradually return to normal. Sleeping on the side is actually unsafe, because the baby may sleep on his stomach at any time.
The mattress is too soft. If the mattress is too soft, the baby's face will easily sink in, causing breathing problems, which is not conducive to the ventilation of the body and may also cause overheating. The mattress of the crib should be moderate in hardness, and soft items such as pillows and plush toys should not be placed on the bed to avoid inadvertently covering the baby's nose and mouth.
Mother and baby sleep in the same bed. Parents sleep with their babies. First, it is too close, and the heat of adults may be transferred to the baby, causing the baby to overheat. Secondly, when the mother turns over, it is easy to accidentally press the baby; Third, if * * * uses a quilt, it may happen that the mother pulls the quilt too high to cover the baby's nose and mouth, causing the baby to suffocate. It is recommended that different beds share a room.
4, overheating when sleeping. There is scientific evidence that overheating will increase the risk of sudden infant death. The room temperature is too high, the baby is covered with a thick quilt and has a fever. It is a common situation that induces sudden infant death, and parents should try to avoid it. You can judge whether the baby is hot or cold by touching the temperature behind the baby's neck, and add or subtract the quilt accordingly.
5. Family members smoke. Studies have shown that the more people in the family smoke and the longer they spend, the greater the risk of sudden infant death. Parents are advised to quit smoking consciously, wash their hands when smoking outside and avoid third-hand smoke. In addition, smoking and using poison during pregnancy will also increase the risk of sudden infant death.
In addition to the above factors, mothers under the age of 20 at the time of giving birth, premature infants and low birth weight infants will also increase the risk of sudden infant death. Parents who meet these conditions should pay more attention to taking care of their babies to avoid accidents.
Can sharing a bed with your baby reduce the risk of sudden infant death?
Although not everyone agrees, there are several strong reasons why you shouldn't share a bed with your baby in the first few months. On the one hand, you must have soft bedding such as pillows and blankets on your bed, which are all risk factors that may lead to sudden death of your baby. And sleeping in the same bed with you, the baby is easy to overheat. In addition, parents (especially obese parents) are likely to crush the baby when it turns over. Kattwinkel, chairman of the research group on infant sleeping posture and sudden infant death syndrome of American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), pointed out: All the studies on this subject show that sharing a bed with an infant will increase the risk of sudden infant death. "
On the other hand, some experts believe that sleeping with the baby can make the mother respond to the changes of the baby's breathing and movements more quickly. And many parents like and deliberately want to sleep with their babies.
If you really plan to share a bed with your baby, James, director of the mother-infant behavioral sleep laboratory at Notre Dame University? Mcnair suggested that you should make sure that your mattress is close to the headboard with no gap in the middle, so as to avoid the baby's head getting stuck. He also suggested that you take away thick and soft bedding, and don't leave ropes or plastic bags beside the bed. In addition, even in your bed, let the baby sleep on his back on the flat mattress.
In some cases, the baby should never sleep with you. If you smoke, or are taking drugs that affect sleep, or drink alcohol, it is not safe to share the bed with your baby. Never let the baby sleep on the waterbed. If you are much overweight, you shouldn't sleep with babies under 3 months old.
British researchers found that when babies and parents are in the same room, but sleep in their own cribs, the risk of sudden death is lower. So the alternative is to put the baby's crib or cradle in your room, or buy a bedside cradle (one end is open and can be hung on an adult's bed at the same height). In this way, you can get close to the baby and let him sleep in his crib.
Is it safe to wrap a baby in swaddling clothes?
Some researchers suggest that wrapping a baby in swaddling clothes (meaning wrapping the baby tightly with blankets or cloth) may help to avoid sudden infant death, because swaddling clothes can help the baby sleep on his back more comfortably. If the baby is frightened while sleeping, his own body movements may wake him up; The baby can limit this kind of action response and make him feel safe. However, other sudden infant death experts warn that babies may cause them to overheat. So, if you wrap your baby in swaddling clothes, use a thinner blanket and don't get too hot in the room. Of course, the baby must not let him sleep on his stomach in infancy.
Will letting your baby use pacifiers increase or decrease the risk of sudden death?
Pacifiers can reduce the risk of sudden infant death. Studies have shown that babies who use pacifiers during sleep or nap have a lower risk of sudden death. These studies do not prove that pacifiers themselves can prevent sudden infant death, but there is a close relationship between using pacifiers and reducing the risk of sudden infant death.
Are some special products, such as sleep monitors or baby sleeping bags, useful?
Some large pediatric hospitals in China have medical sleep monitors to monitor the baby's heartbeat and breathing during sleep, but they are rarely used in China at present. Although there may be home sleep monitors abroad, there is no evidence that the home monitoring system can reduce the possibility of sudden infant death.
If you don't want your baby to sleep without a quilt, maybe you can try a baby sleeping bag (a sleeveless pajamas with the bottom sealed like a bag). This can keep the baby warm and eliminate the possibility of covering the baby's head with a quilt.