Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) - the leading cause of death in infants under 1 year of age can happen at any time. But parents and caregivers should be extra careful during the cold winter months, when the flu and other infections and the urge to bundle up babies extra warmly increase the risk of SIDS, say experts from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.
Over-wrapping, which can lead to thermal stress, is one of several risk factors for SIDS, and one that many parents are unaware of.
"In my practice, I often find that new parents haven't been told about all the risk factors for SIDS, how to properly put their baby to sleep or that they should never over-swaddle," says sleep specialist Ann Halbower, M.D., director of the Children's Center Sleep Disorders Program. "It's a conversation that's just not happening often enough in pediatricians' offices."
Many parents and caregivers might have heard that placing babies to sleep on their backs is the safest position, yet a surprising number of them continue to place their infants in face-down or side-sleep positions, both of which are risk factors for SIDS, Halbower says. Add over-wrapping and viral or bacterial infections to an unsafe sleeping position, and you have a recipe for disaster, she says.
"Several studies in inner cities have shown that many infants sleep with too many blankets or wraps on and in crowded beds with other family members," Halbower says. "Babies who are sick need to vent off the heat from their fever, so bundling baby too warmly is possibly the worst thing you can do in this situation."
Below are some SIDS-prevention tips for new parents: