Sudden death syndrome

| Sudden infant death is the sudden, unexpected death of a child under 12 months of age without any demonstrable cause that justifies it.

Despite research over the past 20 years, we still don't have the answers. Today we can reduce the risks, but we do not know the mechanisms and causes that lead to death.

Have been postulated numerous theories and at present it is thought that this syndrome is not a unique phenomenon always caused by the same medical problems, but that the death of the baby is caused by several different factors. Factors may include:

• Problems with stimulation of the
• Inability to perceive a build-up of carbon dioxide in the blood.

In developed countries it is the most common cause of infant mortality in those under 12 months of age and it is more frequent between 2 and 5 months of age. It affects boys more than girls and in the winter months.

Sudden death symptoms

There are no symptoms that parents can suspect, infants who die from SIDS they don't seem to suffer, nor fight. There are no red flags that can predict it. Listed below are the factors that increase the Syndrome of sudden infant death:

• Babies sleeping on their stomachs
• Babies sleeping in the same bed with their parents
• Babies who have soft bedding in cribs
• Multiple births
• Premature and low birth weight babies
• Babies with a brother who suffered sudden death
• Mothers who smoke or use psychoactive substances
• Teenage mothers
• Short time intervals between pregnancies
• Lack of control in pregnancy
• Poverty situations: low socioeconomic status is one of the most established risk factors.