Parents, concerned about keeping their infant warm as they sleep, place extra blankets on their baby.  While this might instinctively make sense, it in fact increases the risk for SIDS.  The number of infants who die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS, increases in the cold winter months.  Many SIDS deaths really are suffocation deaths. 

During the mid-1990’s, a “Back To Sleep” campaign was launched, which encouraged parents to place their infants on the backs to sleep, in a crib with a firm mattress with no blankets or fluffy bedding under or over them.  Since the start of that campaign, progress has been made - the overall SIDS rate in the United States has declined by more than 50 percent. 

Despite this drop in SIDS deaths, it still is the leading cause of death in infants between 1 month and 1 year of age, and claims the lives of approximately 2,500 babies each year.  The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently issued updated recommendations for reducing the risk of SIDS:

• Always place your baby on her back to sleep, for naps and at night;
• Place your baby on a firm sleep surface, such as a safety-approved crib mattress covered by a fitted sheet;
• Keep your baby’s sleep area close to, but separate from, where you and others sleep;
• Keep soft objects, toys, and loose bedding out of your baby’s sleep area;
• Do not allow smoking around your baby.