SIDS
The most serious problem of all, because it's fatal, is SIDS. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, commonly known by the acronym of SIDS, has also been called “crib death” and refers to the unexpected and unexplained death of an apparently healthy baby, most commonly during sleep. Doctors now feel that many of these cases are traceable to the baby's accidental smothering. Children under two years of age should not be given pillows, and babies of any age should sleep on only the firmest of mattresses. Most important, babies should be put to sleep on their backs, not their stomachs. A national campaign to promote this sleeping position is known as “Back to Sleep.” All these precautions aid in minimizing the opportunities for your baby to die from lack of oxygen.
Once your baby is old enough to roll over in his crib, he may turn onto his stomach during the night, but by then he is past the age at which he is at the greatest risk from SIDS. The danger is highest among infants who cannot pick up their heads or roll over and whose faces sink into soft mattresses or loose sheets.
But not all cases of SIDS are traceable to smothering in soft mattresses or loose sheets. Though scientists and doctors don't know all the causes of SIDS, it does seem that these sudden and inexplicable deaths are triggered by more than one cause, rather than one specific thing. There are certain facts we do know about babies who are more likely to die of SIDS:
Boy babies are more likely to die of SIDS than are girls.
Children of younger mothers are more at risk than children of older mothers.
Bottle-fed babies are more likely to die of SIDS than are breast-fed babies.
Low-birth-weight babies are more at risk than are babies of normal birth weight.
SIDS seems to run in the family. If you had one child die of SIDS, your subsequent children are at higher risk.
None of these factors is a sure indicator of a problem, and in fact, many babies who die of SIDS don't match any of the factors in the previous list. Most babies who die of SIDS were apparently quite healthy up until the time of their death.
There does seem to be some correlation between babies who die of SIDS and mothers who smoke either during pregnancy or thereafter. If you smoke, quitting is a healthy move not only for yourself, but also for your baby. There has also been a connection made between overheated babies and SIDS. SIDS is the leading cause of death in babies whose ages range between one month old and one year old.
Essential
Few parents have bedrooms large enough to accommodate all their own furniture and all of their baby's things, too. A room of his own or at least a room he shares with an older sibling is all but a necessity for your child, if only as a place where his belongings … belong.
