What's the cause of "crib death"?

Factual Questions
21

It could be a number of things, if there were one definative factor, we’d have no more crib death.

Syndrome means, sorta, from what I’ve read, a collection of things that could cause the thing (in this case, the cot deaths).

However, it looks like the mattress-wrap ‘author’ and salesman has found someone else to pimp his covers for him - eh. I don’t have the cites right now, but his information seems inconclusive.

If you’re worried about toxic gasses, etc, you could find fully-organic-cotton mattresses as well - not all are treated with the ‘toxic chemicals’.

Or get a baby hammock (ambybaby.com) … I got one for my kid for a number of reasons, and I believe that it is not treated with those fire-retardants, either.

22

[hijack] Mynn, do you like the baby hammock? I’m getting one for WhyBaby, at the suggestion of a Doper (maybe you, I don’t remember). How long have you been using it? How old is the baby? We’re going to have it before day one of WhyBaby, so s/he’ll never know anything else, and I have my fingers crossed that we can maybe get more than the first 12 months out of it (otherwise, we have to move, because there is NO room for a crib in our teeny apartment.) How portable is it really? Practical to take camping? (Not hiking, just camping a 1/4 mile from the car.) Thanks! [/hijack]

Yes, the baby hammock is available with no flame retardants.

23

My parents pioneered a grass-roots campaign in 1964 to bring SIDS into the public and medical forefront and force the hand of the medical profession to finally recognize the #1 natural killer of infants. Even the March of Dimes refused to recognize a need for SIDS research since it was not a birth defect they could quantify. (By the 1980s, they finally did). They were just ordinary people who wouldn’t take “no” for an answer when the medical community just shrugged it off and consciously allowed nothing to be done, until a grass-roots army of parents demanded answers from doctors and Congress alike.

The truth is we STILL don’t know what causes SIDS, but the “back to sleep” technique has had the greatest results. It greatly improves your odds against SIDS. Your second defense is to ask your pediatrician for a monitor. Granted, many will gripe it gives many false alarms, but if you learn how to place the (gentle suction cup-like) leads on the baby’s chest, you can learn to cope with it.

Unfortunately, I am sorry to say, that there is still no known cause for this silent killer, SIDS. - Jinx

24

I can say these theories have been recycled and kicked around over and over again to no avail. If it gives you piece of mind, do it. But, still realize we just don’t know… - Jinx

25

Three within my extended family, all with one or both parents smokers. Several others in the families of friends & acquaintances, again all smoking households.

What strikes me about this is that since I noticed it, I have never heard of a crib-death in a non-premature infant where neither parent smoked! That really made me wonder about this.

26

I’ve read that the reason sleeping on their backs prevents SIDS has to do with the quality of sleep. Babies sleep better on their tummies because they don’t get that startling “oh my god I’m falling” sensation when prone with hands and arms touching the mattress. They fall into a deeper sleep and are, therefore, less responsive to things like rising carbon dioxide levels or falling oxygen levels. They have fewer episodes of approaching wakefulness sleeping prone.

God forgive me, but there were nights I was so sleep deprived I put the babies to sleep on their tummies to get relief for myself. I rationalized that I was put to sleep that way every night and survived it. To prevent the cranial malformatrion mentioned above I would put them to sleep on their sides with a small rolled blanket behind the back a couple of times a week. (I taped the rolls with adhesive tape to keep them from unrolling and causing a suffocation risk.)

I wonder how much of the decrease in SIDS should be credited to “Back to Sleep” and how much should be credited to improved forensic science that lowered SIDS diagnoses by correctly diagnosing other causes of infant death including infanticide.

27

Single mother of 3 college graduates here - (OK - almost college grad for the youngest)

This is what I know:

I was a statistical nightmare - I had my first at 18 - I smoked during all pregancies (HEH! I was young and it was Oklahoma + Why did we elect a president who would further our beliefs in rugged individualism and “boot-strap” success if we can’t screw up our children?)

Babies are slow to respond when their airways are blocked - nursing babies don’t mind (for wayyyy to long) if they aren’t breathing through their noses. Newborns (to 3 months) are pretty insensible to discomfort - cold temperatures, wet diapers, close covers = nor do they struggle much when their airways are restricted.

As far as I’m concerned, putting them on their back or putting them on their stomach has equal hazards. On their back, they can aspirate spit-up. On their stomach, they can be smothered in the bedding (regardless of its specs) because they can’t lift their head high enough to avoid smothering - nor do they respond strongly to having their air cut off. And don’t forget that you need bedding enough to keep the them warm.

One of the founding fathers of 20th cent. anthropology, Ashley Montaque, pointed out that human babies require “9 months in & 9 months out” to develop to the same degree that most mammals have attained at birth. Your baby has traversed more than half of the perilous journey. This is America, with a very high rate of infant survival - your precious will be counted among them.

You have no idea how fleeting this stage of life is, and how much you should be worrying about the next few phases . Ya’all survive.

PS - Remind me to tell you the story of how my youngest didn’t sleep through the night until he was 7 1/2 months old, and how when I woke up that morning (having slept through the night for the 1st time since he was born) I was convinced that he was dead, dead, dead - the only thing I had to do was confirm the fact by going into the nursery. A momentary lapse on his part - he didn’t sleep through the night again until he was almost 1!

I really, really know your concern. Security is not insured - this new person is so very, very vulnerable - but he’s not a statistic. Check on him frequently - trust that odds are wayyy in your favor, and prepare to wonder at your own inexperience some day.

28

A recent report (last week, in Science Magazine, if you have access to it) tends to support the genetic possibility of SIDS. It at least gives some support against the very real backlash against the mothers of second SIDS death infants. The British study showed no likelihood of infanticide in the cases studied, and the authors encourage doctors to research such claims very thoroughly before making accusations based solely on a second SIDS case in the same family.

Tris

“In my opinion, there’s nothing in this world, Beats a '52 Vincent, and a red headed girl.” ~ Richard Thompson

29

But monitors have been shown not to help in the slightest. They’re no longer recommended because they don’t improve survival odds.

30

Almost none.

Back to Sleep programs were instituted in other countries, and their success in decreasing SIDS deaths by half led to its implementation in the US. Similar success quickly followed. It was not a gradual improvement.

31

Jinx, here…my sister, who would be 40 last Oct., was not premature and neither parent smoked. She died at 2 months of age. At best, the demographics make broad sweeping statements, but point to nothing conclusive.

But, this is not to endorse smoking, especially around infants…

  • Jinx
32

There are tell-tale differences between SIDS and other “crib deaths” or “infant deaths”. The medical community has been aware…and careful…for some time to distinguish between SIDS and others. Sure, misdiagnoses can occur, but the telltale sign about SIDS is that there are no telltale signs. Other forms of infanticide leave some trace of a clue(s).

When my parents started the SIDS movement, do you know what the death certificate said? “Interstital pneuminitis” which is a fancy way of saying “the lungs filled with water” which is a result in all deaths, not the cause. Luckily, the medical examiner at the time took a special interest in SIDS and went the extra mile to advance my parents’ cause…educating police, etc., about SIDS. Unfortunately, things have come full circle from what I hear and coping with the police during such a trauma can be brutal. “Why did you kill your baby, ma’am” :eek: was the first thing they asked my distressed Mom. I don’t know how she held herself together… - Jinx

33

Yes, monitors have had mixed reviews. And, I did not say it was the silver bullet.
Based on gut instinct, I’d have to agree that their success may not be statistically significant, but many factors play into this.

Often, doctors do not recommend a sleep monitor because:
a) The insurance co’s don’t want to pay for it.
b) They false alarm very frequently, which I admit is perhaps equally distressing as being neurotic enough to check on the baby every ten seconds sleeping without one…
c) The doctor’s own personal philosophy is steering the public.
d) Bad news travels fast…I wonder how many success stories there are?

As for me and my wife, (in 1999) we had one nonetheless. It was the lesser of two evils, and my wife and I were resound to the fact to respond (without panic) to every alarm. All in all, our Heathdyne (makers of the prototype monitor) monitor did not alarm (false or otherwise) every time we turned around. If we had to do it again, I am sure we would without hesitation.

Also, the early monitors were very crude. I wonder if the stats have any way of adjusting for the level of the technology at the time of the study…a running study may be warped by an preponderance of bad data early-on.

  • Jinx
34

Good point. Yes, that is correct. I want to say the campaign originated in England, but I cannot swear to it. - Jinx

35

No. It’s not that they’re “only sort of effective” or have been the target of “mixed reviews”. There is no evidence of their effectiveness - they were pushed by an early SIDS researcher, whose study (of five infants!) upon which he based his claims had three infants die - which were later shown to be murders.

There just is not evidence that they’d work. If I had a kid, you can damn well bet I wouldn’t be strapping an electrical machine to it that goes off all the time - if for no other reason than I wouldn’t want to wake the kid up with false alarms.

36

Some new research has pointed to Long QT syndrome as a cause of some SIDS cases. Various studies have estimated that 5-30% of US SIDS deaths result from Long QT syndrome. Another study done in Italy found did baseline EKGs of a large number of newborns. Of those who died of SIDS, 50% had a prolonged QT interval. In addition, the risk of SIDS death decreases over the first 6 months of life, which correlates to a decrease in the QT interval.

In children, especially, cases of Long QT syndrome can be asymptomatic until cardiac arrest occurs.

St. Urho
Paramedic

37

As a father of four, I can tell you I spent many nights awake, listening to my children in the other room, checking on them, and making sure all was well.

I spent a considerable amount of time on the web, searching for resources and information on Crib death and SIDS. I drew my own unscientific conclusions which are as follows…

  1. Crib death happens primarily as a result of improper sleeping postion, or an illness or medical conditon.

  2. SIDS does not exist. Or at least not in the manner it’s portrayed. SIDS has been protrayed as some kind of mystery illness that snatches away babies in the night when nothing could be further from the truth. Medical scientists have been working for decades on discovering what SIDS is. They haven’t been able to find out what it is, because there is no such thing! Medical science has been searching for an answer because multiple siblings from some families have all fallen victim to SIDS, suggesting (to some) a genetic link.

In reality, MANY of the families who’ve been affected by multiple child SIDS deaths have been revealed to be, as someone else said, infanticide. Multiple children from the same family died because someone killed them!

Now, you will hear a lot of information to the contrary, but keep in mind there are medical researchers out there who’ve spent their entire lives researching SIDS with government money, and they will not easily admit that they’ve been chasing a ghost.

Just one guy’s opinion.

38

Here’s another - my sister lost her bouncing, apparently healthy little boy to SIDS at *eight months * … neither parent smoked.

Yes - TV presenter Anne Diamond launched the campaign in 1991, following the tragic cot-death (as it was then called) of her fifth child Sebastian.

39

Dude! (a) You don’t understand what you’re talking about! SIDS has be differentiated out from all other forms of “crib death” which lumps in babies with their heads stuck in the bars (on old cribs), blue babies, and a laundry list of other events. (b) Why does your theory span EVERYTHING as a cause; yet, nothing an autospy can find?

Wow, four children, a surf on the net…and voila! You’re an expert in SIDS?
Shame on you! - Jinx Damn :mad:

40

While your citation may be correct, the QT theory goes waaaay back with no conclusive results. My sisters and myself were tested for the QT characteristic in 1974 at NIH as prime candidates. I regret to say nothing came from this study.

  • Jinx