Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in Childrearing Families

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the term used to describe the death of an infant where no cause can be identified despite a postmortem examination, an investigation of the death scene, and consideration of a thorough medical history. SIDS most commonly occurs in infants aged 1 month to 1 year, but deaths in the 1st month of life and in infants older than 1 year have been attributed to SIDS. Such a death can be particularly devastating to families because of the lack of any symptoms or warning signs of imminent death and because of the difficulty in identifying any cause of death.

Because SIDS lacks an identifiable cause, public health focuses on prevention through providing infants with a safe sleeping environment and minimizing exposure ...