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Children's Health Newborns and Toddlers

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: How Can You Protect Your Child?

Summary & Participants

It is estimated that approximately nine infants die every day of a mysterious cause called "sudden infant death syndrome," (SIDS). It strikes babies in the crib and its causes are unknown. Join our panel of experts as they present the latest recommendations and discuss the factors that might put your child at higher risk.

Medically Reviewed On: May 07, 2008

Webcast Transcript

DAVID R. MARKS, MD: Hi, and welcome to our webcast. I'm Dr. David Marks. The topic today is sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS. It's a tragedy that claims the lives of almost 3,000 babies each year in the U.S., but there may be some ways parents can prevent it. Joining me to talk about this topic are two guests. First is Dr. Dan Neuspiel. He's associate chairman of pediatrics at Beth Israel Medical Center. Welcome. And next to him is Dr. Herschell Lessin. He's a pediatrician with the Children's Medical Group in Poughkeepsie, New York. Welcome.

SIDS, that scenario must be a devastating thing for a family. You must have seen it happen. Tell me about it.

DANIEL NEUSPIEL, MD: It really is horrendous, David, and parents look for a reason, and we don't know a real reason why these kids die. It's what we call a diagnosis of exclusion. That is, after evaluating and looking into any other cause of death in these young infants, it's attribute to sudden infant death.

HERSCHEL LESSIN, MD: And the parents feel terribly guilty. It's like they must have done something. "I mean, these kind of things just don't happen. It's not right." Parents go through incredible guilt over this, and they always think there's something they did or something someone else did to cause it.

DAVID R. MARKS, MD: How often does this actually occur? I mentioned over 2,000 babies a year. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it really is.

DANIEL NEUSPIEL, MD: Babies don't die very often, and for any pediatrician they may see one or two cases of this every year, every few years. It's not very frequent. When it occurs it's devastating.

DAVID R. MARKS, MD: There's one statistic that says that nine infants die each day from SIDS. When you think about it like that, that's really a tremendous number, and a lot of families are affected.

HERSCHEL LESSIN, MD: Certainly, and the good news about SIDS is that there are lot fewer dying now than there used to be thanks to new a recommendation by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which is that kids need to sleep on their backs, not on their stomachs, like we did for the last 100 or so years in this country.

DAVID R. MARKS, MD: Before we go to how to prevent it, is this the most common cause of death in infants?

DANIEL NEUSPIEL, MD: It's the most common cause of non-traumatic death in infants.

DAVID R. MARKS, MD: What do you mean by that, non-traumatic?

DANIEL NEUSPIEL, MD: Many deaths of those that occur in infants and young children are caused by trauma, things like motor vehicle accidents and other kinds of traumas....

HERSCHEL LESSIN, MD: Abuse, child abuse.

DAVID R. MARKS, MD: SIDS is really the thing to worry about, aside from any kind of trauma?

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