A Preventable Syndrome: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), also known as crib or bed death, is a condition in which a baby under one year of age is considered to be completely healthy, died suddenly and unexpectedly, and the cause of death cannot be explained by medical research. It is the leading cause of infant deaths between one month and one year of age in developed and developing countries. In particular, 95 percent of cases occur in the first six months. In the development of SIDS, many risk factors belonging to the mother, the baby and the environment have been defined. To prevent these risk factors, “A-B-C” rule was developed by American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). In this rule, which is applied during the transition period of the baby, the importance of giving the baby to sleep alone, in the supine position and in the cradle is stated. For successful management and prevention of SIDS, there is a need for a higher awareness and cooperation between various institutions. In this review, SIDS is evaluated with the current literature and the risk factors related to SIDS and measures to reduce the SIDS risk are given