Pacifiers Reduce Risk of SIDS

Doctors now believe that babies should be given a pacifier at bedtime to reduce the risk of SIDS. Experts believe that the pacifier prevents the baby from sleeping too deeply - a problem with babies prone to SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. However, you should not reinsert your baby's pacifier if it falls out during sleep, never coat the pacifier with any sweet substance, and don't force a pacifier on your baby if she refuses it.

Nearly 3,000 seemingly healthy babies die of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS, each year in the United States, making it the leading cause of death among infants who are between 1 month and 1 year old. The cause of SIDS remains a mystery, although recent scientific breakthroughs hold the hope of prevention.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is the sudden and unexplained death of an infant younger than one year old. It rarely occurs in babies younger than two weeks or older than six months - most deaths occur in infants between two and four months - and the incidence of SIDS is greatest during cold weather, according to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Often referred to as "crib death," SIDS is usually associated with sleeping and the infants often show no signs of trauma or suffering. African-American infants are two times more likely to die of SIDS than white infants, Native Americans are about three times more likely than whites, and more boys than girls fall victim to SIDS. Other potential risk factors include:

1. smoking, drinking, or drug use during pregnancy

2. poor prenatal care

3. premature birth or low birth weight (less than 4.4 pounds)

4. mother is younger than 20

5. infant's exposure to smoke

6. putting the infant to sleep on his stomach

7. a sibling of the infant's died of SIDS