SIDS

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is as tragic as it sounds. When we have an unexplained death of an otherwise perfectly healthy infant, we use this term to put a name to this phenomenon. SIDS occurs most often in the first 4-6 months of life and usually stops once a baby is big enough and strong enough to roll over on their own. Every few years, research points us toward a possible cause like unknown heart arrhythmia, undiagnosed seizures, immature breathing center in the brain, poor proprioception (knowing where parts of their body are in space), etc. The changing nature of probable causes indicates that SIDS is most likely not a single disease process but a collection of diseases/events that are difficult to test for or detect in this age group. The one thing that the research into SIDS has been consistent on is that having baby sleep on their back in a super boring crib with just a tight-fitted sheet (no cute stuffed animals or crib bumpers) can reduce the chance of SIDS by more than half.

Some families have asked me about the use of oxygen monitors for babies such as the Owlet. None of the reputable journal studies have ever shown that these devices have any effect on preventing SIDS in otherwise healthy babies. In fact, multiple journals have actually shown the biggest effect that the Owlet and similar devices can have is not on babies but on their parents; families that use the Owlet have a higher rate of separation and divorce than those families who do not.