Why does sleeping in the same room as a baby reduce SIDS?

Now parents are known to sudden death syndrome. Over thousands of babies die in the USA because of SIDS. To reduce this unexpected death of an infant, we need more awareness. The American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines for safe sleep recommends that sleeping in parents’ bedrooms for the infant is safe. Try to keep your baby in your bedroom until he is at least six months. However, let’s learn more about SIDS and the risk factor for it.

What is SIDS?

SIDS or Sudden infant death syndrome is the unexpected and sudden death of a healthy baby during sleep. It is also known as crib death.

What are the five risk factors for SIDS?

Some physical and sleeping positions and environment are the factors for SIDS. But the factors vary from baby to baby. Babies from one month to a year can face sudden infant death syndrome. Many factors are responsible for SIDS. So, SIDS death can not be predicted with a single factor. But the most common factor is related to sleeping. Besides, some other common factors cause SIDS. However, let’s see five risk factors for SIDS.

Sex: It is noticeable that baby boys die of SIDS more than baby girls. But we do not know the actual reason behind it.

Age: The child who is between two to four months is mainly at risk of SIDS. So, during this time, it is better to keep your child in your bedroom.

Stomach sleeping: It is another risk factor. Stomach sleeping is a higher risk factor for SIDS. The real cause is unknown, but doctors say that the anatomical pressure causes stomach sleeping. This pressure is responsible for less oxygen during rebreathing. Sometimes, the brain of the babies does not respond appropriately. So, the baby cannot wake fast when it needs. So, do not keep your baby on the stomach for a long time when he is asleep.

Season: During winter, SIDS increases among infants.

Smoking: Parental exposure to drugs, cigarettes, alcohol is another factor of SIDS. Earlier studies showed that SIDS is most noticeable to the babies whose father or mother smoked and shared their bed with babies. Newer studies also show that bedsharing is really risky for infants whose parents smoke a cigarette.  

Some other factors are being premature, family history, etc.

Is SIDS rare?

In the USA, thousands of babies die unexpectedly, and it is called SIDS. In the UK, the rate is 200 babies in a year. But it is still rated though the statics sounds alarming.

Can CPR save SIDS, baby?

Sometimes CPR works. If you notice your child has stopped breathing, you can try CPR, but it does not work all the time.

Why does sleeping in the same room as a baby reduce SIDS?

Studies found that the babies who sleep alone in their room before 4-6 months used to sleep longer than the babies who slept with their parents. When a baby is at nine months, he becomes a better sleeper. But sleep many hours at a time is not a good thing for the infant. It is a crucial matter to grow the ability to wake quickly and easily. It prevents SIDS.

When you share your room with your baby, he will wake several times at night, and it protects the baby from SIDS. We know that infancy is not forever. Your baby will gradually learn to sleep at night to give you a break.

Besides, sleeping near also helps to breastfeed. Breastmilk is always good for infants than formula milk. If your baby is in another room, you may like to switch to formula milk instead of breastfeeding earlier. So, the recommendation for room sharing is at least 6 months for your infant to save his life.

When you share the room, it makes a lot of sense. You can easily keep your eye on your child at night. Monitor his comfort, feeding, etc. Do not keep your child in the same bed as you. But try to feed your baby in the bed. After feeding, return him to the separate bedroom. You should also remove the additional pillows, sheets, blankets from the bed for your child’s safety.

Room sharing is a recommendation of the safe-sleep campaign for babies to decrease SIDS. So, it must be followed by the parents to prevent the risk of SIDS to their child.

Sleeping in the same room reduces SIDS up to 70%. The leading causes are that you can monitor your baby properly, wake up 3,4 times that is good for an infant, and easily feed the baby. Though SIDS is not a standard risk, you need to be concerned about keeping your baby safe.