Spread The Word: Babies Sleep On Their Backs!

There has been an unusual number of crib deaths in Acadiana recently.  Crib death, or SIDS (for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) is a rare but devastating event where baby is found in bed dead for no apparent reason.  We in the Emergency Department hate these cases because there is nothing we can do when the baby comes in- our resuscitation efforts are far too late to help.  All we can do is help to get the word out to prevent these tragedies from happening. What happens in a SIDS case?  How does baby die?  To put it simply, the baby smothers to death.  They suffocate when they are face down in thick bed clothes, like pillows or soft mattresses.  They get caught with heavy blankets over their faces.  They get stuck under a heavily-sleeping adult.  Newborn babies and young infants do not have enough coordination and strength to rescue themselves from these situations.  They can't do a push-up or roll over to recover from face-down smothering.  They can't use their arms well enough to push blankets or pillows off their faces.  And they certainly can't push an adult off themselves. In the past two decades, the American Academy of Pediatrics has been trying to get the word out so that parents can prevent these tragedies.  The campaign was first called "Back To Sleep," meaning that babies should sleep on their backs, not on their tummies.  That way their faces stays clear of pillows and soft mattresses.  There should not be pillows, thick blankets, or stuffed animals in the baby's bed- these are all smothering hazards.  Baby should not share a bed with adults, other children, dogs, or cats.  The old tale of cats stealing babies' breath has some truth.  However, the cat does not "steal" the baby's breath through some supernatural means.  They merely smother the babies when they snuggle up next to them for warmth and accidentally cover the babies' faces. Many parents already know these rules, but break them when baby gets sick.  When baby spits up or has a cold, they bring baby into bed with them at night to "watch" them more closely.  Unfortunately, this "watching baby" becomes "sleeping with baby," as the exhausted new parent finds it impossible to stay awake.  Then the parents and their soft beds becomes a suffocating risk. Parents also worry that colds and spitting up will clog babies' airways.  It seems to make sense that when babies lie on their backs, they might choke to death on vomit or mucus.  So besides putting babies in bed with them, they are also tempted to put baby to sleep on their stomachs.  Again, this seems to make sense, as a baby who lies prone can let the secretions and vomit just run out their mouths. However, like many things in science, what seems to make sense turns out to be more dangerous.  Babies sleeping on their tummies doubles their risk of crib death, colds or vomiting or not.  Babies actually seem designed to handle vomit and secretions when they lie on their back.  Sure, they cough and gag and make choking sounds.  But these are the sounds of the reflex to clear their airways.  They cough out the secretions and gag but then swallow, and clear their airways themselves. So help us get the word out, since not every parent has heard or heeded the message: Babies should sleep on their backs.  They should sleep alone.  They should sleep on a firm surface with only thin blankets.  No pillows, stuffed animals, or crib bumpers.  And if you want baby closer to you at night, pull his or her bed up next to yours, but keep baby in that safe bed.  I am counting on you to do the right thing, and so is baby!