Fan in Baby's Room Reduces SIDS Risk
New evidence has shown that running a fan in your baby's room can help reduce the risk of SIDS.
By Anastacia Mott Austin
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS (also known by the names crib death or cot death), is many a parent's worst fear. What adds to this fear is that even after decades of study, there isn't much known about the actual cause of death in SIDS cases, though there are some theories.
Experts have concluded that somehow the re-breathing of carbon dioxide can increase the risk of death, as well as exposure to second-hand cigarette smoke, or a baby's body temperature being too high.
The "Back to Sleep" campaign has been credited with reducing SIDS deaths over the past 15 years or so. "Back to Sleep" aimed to get parents to put their babies to sleep on their backs rather than on their stomachs, to reduce the possibility of suffocation or breathing in too much carbon dioxide.
A new study has added another tool to the kit in fighting SIDS. Along with putting babies to sleep on their backs, and avoiding padded bedding or overly warm sleep clothes, the study suggests that having a fan running in the baby's room can help to circulate the air and keep carbon dioxide levels from getting too high.
Dr. De-Kun Li, co-author of the study which was published in this week's The Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, said that even if researchers don't know the exact cause, they can continue to pinpoint factors that contribute to SIDS and recommend steps to avoid them.
Dr. Li, a reproductive and perinatal epidemiologist at Kaiser Permanente's research center in Oakland, California, told reporters, "Even though we don't know why certain babies are more susceptible, sleeping environment matters."
The study involved comparing 185 infants who had died of SIDS with a similar number of randomly chosen healthy infants matched by race, age, and country of origin.
Changes made since the late 1980s have decreased the incidence of SIDS deaths from about 2.4 in 1,000 to 1 in 2,000, yet the baffling syndrome is still the leading cause of death in infants under the age of one year old, killing 2,500 babies every year in the United States. The majority of SIDS deaths occur in infants between two and four months of age.
The study concluded that using a fan, in combination with other preventive measures, could reduce the risk of SIDS by 76%.
Dr. Li is careful to warn parents that they must still use all the suggested measures, saying, "A fan is not a replacement for the other recommendations."
Other recommendations include:
• Using a firm mattress in baby's crib
• Keeping the baby's sleeping area free from pillows, soft padding, or stuffed animals
• Making sure to put the infant to sleep on his or her back, not on the stomach
• Avoiding second-hand smoke in a baby's environment. This recommendation extends to warnings to not smoke during pregnancy, as this seems to increase SIDS risk
• Baby should not be too hot while sleeping, and should be clothed lightly for sleep, with a light blanket, if any.
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS (also known by the names crib death or cot death), is many a parent's worst fear. What adds to this fear is that even after decades of study, there isn't much known about the actual cause of death in SIDS cases, though there are some theories.
Experts have concluded that somehow the re-breathing of carbon dioxide can increase the risk of death, as well as exposure to second-hand cigarette smoke, or a baby's body temperature being too high.
The "Back to Sleep" campaign has been credited with reducing SIDS deaths over the past 15 years or so. "Back to Sleep" aimed to get parents to put their babies to sleep on their backs rather than on their stomachs, to reduce the possibility of suffocation or breathing in too much carbon dioxide.
A new study has added another tool to the kit in fighting SIDS. Along with putting babies to sleep on their backs, and avoiding padded bedding or overly warm sleep clothes, the study suggests that having a fan running in the baby's room can help to circulate the air and keep carbon dioxide levels from getting too high.
Dr. De-Kun Li, co-author of the study which was published in this week's The Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, said that even if researchers don't know the exact cause, they can continue to pinpoint factors that contribute to SIDS and recommend steps to avoid them.
Dr. Li, a reproductive and perinatal epidemiologist at Kaiser Permanente's research center in Oakland, California, told reporters, "Even though we don't know why certain babies are more susceptible, sleeping environment matters."
The study involved comparing 185 infants who had died of SIDS with a similar number of randomly chosen healthy infants matched by race, age, and country of origin.
Changes made since the late 1980s have decreased the incidence of SIDS deaths from about 2.4 in 1,000 to 1 in 2,000, yet the baffling syndrome is still the leading cause of death in infants under the age of one year old, killing 2,500 babies every year in the United States. The majority of SIDS deaths occur in infants between two and four months of age.
The study concluded that using a fan, in combination with other preventive measures, could reduce the risk of SIDS by 76%.
Dr. Li is careful to warn parents that they must still use all the suggested measures, saying, "A fan is not a replacement for the other recommendations."
Other recommendations include:
• Using a firm mattress in baby's crib
• Keeping the baby's sleeping area free from pillows, soft padding, or stuffed animals
• Making sure to put the infant to sleep on his or her back, not on the stomach
• Avoiding second-hand smoke in a baby's environment. This recommendation extends to warnings to not smoke during pregnancy, as this seems to increase SIDS risk
• Baby should not be too hot while sleeping, and should be clothed lightly for sleep, with a light blanket, if any.
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