Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the unexpected, sudden death of a child under age 1 in which an autopsy does not show an explainable cause of death.

as a mommy to an angel (my profile pic)that we lost to sids it is very frustrating to see sids and suffocation put into the same sentence. sids at this time has no known cause. there is no "cure" there is no definate reason to why my baby went to sleep and did not wake up. sids is not prevented by sleep monitors. yes they are a nice precaution but no it will not prevent your baby from dying,. there are precautions that you can and should take bc they do not know what causes sids. sids is unpredictable and takes babies without warning. please educate yourself, but please do not confuse the information that is given.

I have a one month old baby that we're adopting. I've had her since birth and I have either put her on her side or her back to sleep. The reason for putting her on her side is because we feared that if she vomitted in the night, she might choke on it and put her at serious risk. I have also put her down for a nap on her belly but only if I am sitting right beside her to monitor her. Is this a problem for the side and belly sleeping the way I do it?

My sister-in-law (who just freshly graduated nursing school and knows it all!) dramatically went into tears when she saw a picture of my little girl napping on her belly. Again, she doesn't nap like this often, only occasionally, and I'm always right beside her. It's also a very firm surface that she doesn't even sink into the slightest.

I would love to know your input on this because I feel that I'm being cautious but I don't want to under react due to the SIL's over-reaction. Thanks, Shannon

The Drop Side Cribs are currently being recalled and will no longer be manufactured starting Spring of 2011 due to the safety hazard they pose for babies.  Most retailers do not sell them anymore.

Isn't it true that if you have baby sleep in bed with you, their chances of SIDs actually goes down?

hey,

my daughter is one of those werid babies that cant sleep on her back, she wakes up, pluse she rolls over to her tummy. plus my daughter love to be snuggled in a sleep blanket outfit. or in a blanket. she will not sleep with just a tight onies one. also if i dont have bumpers on her cirb she puts her arm though and gets stuck when she is sleeping. also not all cribs have sides that move up and down. so there is not a choice of lifting the baby over the side... but all good points.

hi dr.sears,

thank-you for posting this. i lost a sister to sids.  hopefully this will save another life(s). 

sincererly bye1962

When I had my kids 36 and 33yrs ago I had never heard of SIDS,unless they didn't have a name for it yet. I was told to place my babies on the stomach.

Yvonne