SIDS—also referred to as crib death—strikes without warning and seemingly
with no regard to persons. In the United States,
over 2,000 SIDS-related deaths are reported every year. The number of SIDS
deaths has actually fallen in recent history. Since 1983, the incidence of SIDS
has dropped nearly 50 percent. Unfortunately, despite this improvement, SIDS
remains the leading cause of death among children between the ages of one month
and one year.
SIDS most often occurs before the six-month mark, generally between the
second and fourth months, but can happen at anytime during the child’s first
year. Boys generally have an increased risk of SIDS compared to girls.
Certain factors can contribute to raising the risk of SIDS. While certain
factors, such as race (African-American and Native American infants have an increased
chance of SIDS as compared to other races) or brain abnormalities (many
researchers feel that underdevelopment of the brain stem and certain other
genetic disorders may play a large role in causing SIDS), are beyond the
control of parents, many factors can be controlled to help prevent the
occurrence of SIDS.