Definition

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the unexplained death of an apparently healthy infant, usually during sleep. The condition is also known as crib death.

Description

Sudden infant death syndrome strikes 1 to 2 infants in every 1,000. It is the leading cause of death in newborn children. SIDS accounts for about 10 percent of deaths occurring during the first year of life.

SIDS most commonly strikes babies between the ages of two and six months. It almost never occurs in babies younger than two weeks or older than eight months. Most SIDS deaths occur between midnight and 8 A.M.

More than 4,800 babies died of SIDS in 1992. That number dropped to 3,279 deaths in 1995. One reason for this decrease was better education about the disorder. Parents were being taught to place babies on their backs or sides when put to bed, which is thought to reduce...