Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) News and Research

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Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden, unexplained death of an infant younger than one year old. It is the leading cause of death in children between one month and one year of age. Most SIDS deaths happen when babies are between 2 months and 4 months of age.

Fetal exposure to nicotine linked with SIDS and cardiac arrhythmias in newborns

Fetal exposure to tobacco smoke in utero is associated with sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and cardiac arrhythmias in newborns. In a novel study in rabbits, investigators provide the first evidence linking fetal exposure to nicotine to long-term alterations of the cardiac sodium current.

29 Mar 2019

Forty percent of parents are not co-sleeping safely with their babies

According to a survey of 8551 people, 40 percent of parents are not following safe co-sleeping practices with their babies, and this is significantly increasing the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

12 Mar 2019

Smoking during pregnancy increases SUID risk

The first findings to result from a collaboration between Seattle Children's Research Institute and Microsoft data scientists provides expecting mothers new information about how smoking before and during pregnancy contributes to the risk of an infant dying suddenly and unexpectedly before their first birthday.

11 Mar 2019

Study finds link between lengthy periods of undisturbed maternal sleep and stillbirths

Sleeping more than nine hours per night during pregnancy may be associated with late stillbirth, a new Michigan Medicine-led international study suggests.

18 Jan 2019

Loss of serotonin neuron activity blunts the body’s ability to recover from interrupted breathing

Scientists trying to identify the roots of sudden infant death syndrome, the leading cause of death in U.S. infants between 1 month and 1 year old, have increasingly turned their attention to the neurotransmitter serotonin and the brain cells that produce it.

25 Oct 2018

Experts warn about use of cardboard baby cribs

There has been a recent trend of cardboard baby boxes for infants that are supposed to promote their sleeping. Some have claimed these boxes to be safer than traditional cots, cradles and bassinets.

19 Oct 2018

Study provides insight into circumstances that lead to sudden unexpected infant death

For the first time in England a study has been conducted of official investigations of unexpected infant deaths.

26 Jul 2018

Mount Sinai study could help doctors to better understand and manage diseases affecting the larynx

In a first-of-its-kind study, Mount Sinai researchers have used sensory mapping to discover that the posterior part of the larynx (closest to the swallowing tract) is the main area of the voice box to protect the airway from potentially dangerous swallowed or inhaled substances.

29 Jun 2018

SIDS study reveals unsafe sleep practices among babysitters, relatives and friends

Babies who died during their sleep while being watched by someone other than parents often had been placed in unsafe sleep positions, such as on their stomachs, or in unsafe locations, such as a couch, a new study has found.

2 Apr 2018

Study identifies potential genetic link in sudden infant death syndrome

Rare genetic mutations associated with impairment of the breathing muscles are more common in children who have died from sudden infant death syndrome (also known as ‘cot death’) than in healthy controls, suggesting a possible genetic element of the disorder, according to a case-control study in the UK and USA published in The Lancet.

29 Mar 2018

Genetic links to cot deaths found in new research

Cot death or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is a rare but unexplained and tragic occurrence where babies between ages two and four months who are apparently healthy die unexpectedly during sleep. SIDS is responsible for around 300 and 2400 deaths in the United Kingdom and United States of America yearly. Researchers have now found a genetic link that could explain the occurrence and risk of such incidents. The study appeared in the latest issues of the journal Lancet.

29 Mar 2018

Younger siblings of SIDS victims have four-fold increased risk of sudden death

Siblings of cot death victims have a four-fold higher risk of cot death, according to research presented today at EHRA 2018, a European Society of Cardiology congress.

19 Mar 2018

Genetic heart mutations account for fewer sudden and unexplained infant deaths

Researchers have discovered that heart disease caused by genetic mutations account for significantly fewer sudden and unexplained deaths of infants than previously reported.

13 Mar 2018

One in 14 pregnant women continue to smoke

According to a report released this week (28th February 2018), one in 14 women who have given birth in the United States has smoked during their pregnancy despite warnings regarding the harmful effects of the same. The report comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC’s) National Center for Health Statistics.

1 Mar 2018

Safe sleep recommendations for parents that may help reduce child’s risk of SUID

Sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) is the leading cause of death among infants one month to one year of age, with more than 3,500 infants dying unexpectedly each year. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is a major contributor.

19 Feb 2018

Report identifies potentially modifiable factors that may contribute to persistent risk of SUID

An analysis of trends in sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) over the past two decades finds that the drop in such deaths that took place following release of the 1992 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) "back to sleep" recommendations, did not occur in infants in the first month of life.

14 Feb 2018

Inhaled carbon dioxide triggers group of neurons responsible for arousal

Breathing too much carbon dioxide can be deadly, but it can happen during sleep if a particular sleeping position causes an obstructed airway or because of a medical condition like sleep apnea.

30 Jan 2018

SIDS still a threat to American babies, finds survey

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome SIDS, is still a threat to American babies finds the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control CDC in a new survey. The CDC states in its new Vital Signs report that despite the public campaigns and also the significant improvements in reducing the unsafe infant sleeping practices, there is still a threat to babies.

10 Jan 2018

Developmental abnormality discovered in babies linked to SIDS

International research involving the University of Adelaide has uncovered a developmental abnormality in babies - especially in premature babies and in boys - that for the first time has been directly linked to cases of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

25 Oct 2017