[irishgal63]

Has it ever been determined what really causes SIDS. ?
A medical reason or 'cause baby was sleeping on tummy
or it's back, etc. ?

[TedHutchinson]

I think they are still thinking about possible causes. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...=pubmed_docsum
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS): microgravity and inadequate sensory stimulation. is a new research paper with an interesting theory, not sure if it right though.
Here are a few other comments risk factors included prone sleep position, smoking by mother, bedsharing with someone other than the parents, and baby found with head covered
Use of a dummy seems to reduce the risk of SIDS and possibly reduces the influence of known risk factors in the sleep environment.
Women whose infants die from SIDS are more likely to have complications in their other pregnancies. Recurrence of pregnancy complications predisposing to SIDS could partly explain why some women have recurrent SIDS.
5% of all cases of SIDS are caused by fatty acid oxidation disorders.
Newborns react like adults, mounting sustained increases in heart rate in response to head-up tilting, but at 2-4 mo of age sustained heart rate responses are no longer significant.

These are all from research papers published in December 2005 so as you see, it's still a matter hotly debated by the experts. The sleeping position and use of dummy seem to be the lead solutions. But it's a big adaptive change going from being in inside a womb to being on your own and subject gravity and the enviroment.

[baron]

Hi
3 weeks ago we lost our daughter to SIDS. She was 4 months old and felt she was as healthy as she could have been. We put her to sleep on her back, no one ever smoked around her and also made sure she was never to cold or hot in the evening. The thing that is getting at me is she passed away not in her sleep (like all the web sites I have read have said) but in our clinic when she was getting weighed!! One minute she was smiling at her mum, the next she was having breathing difficulties and her heart stopped. (So the doctors say). I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction to find more information on if this happens a lot. Has anyone reading this been through this before? Me wife and I have so many questions that need answering but can’t seem to get any info from the internet apart from the warning signs on how to help prevent it, which we were doing to the letter by the way.
I fell let down with the system when they say our angel died of SIDS when they don’t even know what it is or what it does. I mean how they can say you can prevent it if they don’t know what it is. Im shocked by how little information there is, even in the so called professionals eyes.
Any help and advice would be great.
Thanks
Joe

[HappyMomAnna]

Joe,
I am so sorry for the loss you and your wife have suffered.
Growing up my mothers best friend had a little girl about a year before I was born and she died of SIDs very young (under 6 months). I still talk with my mom's friend and 43 years later it is still a mystery with no real answers.
I think it is normal to wonder if we as parents might have been able to do something different. Grief is a long process with many different stages and no real order as to how we walk through the stages of grief. Your loss is made even more difficult because it is being called this unknown and apparently unpreventable Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
I agree with you that I have never heard of this happening right in the doctor office while receiving care. That does seems different then most SIDS stories I have heard. I suppose it is a little more comforting that this happened while at the clinic rather then at home but understand how it is easy to take on the guilt.
You did all the right things. And now you will need to make peace in your heart that you did everything you possible could to lave and care for your little girl. It might be hard to get any clear info about SIDS as it really is a mystery and so far there seems to be no way to completely avoid it.

[TedHutchinson]

I am sure that everyone who reads your post will feel for you. I cannot imagine what it must be like coping in your circumstances. You mustn't though let it ruin your life or your marriage. Life does go on and although what has happened will always be with you, there will be good times ahead, though at this point I'm sure you cannot see when that will be.

As I made clear in my first post on this topic there is still a lot of research going on.
98 new research papers listed on this topic in the last 180 days at PUBMED so although there is still a lot to know it's good to know so many folks are working on the problem. It's unfortunate that so much of the research budget for health matters is driven by the profit motive rather than preventative medicine and strategies to improve life.

This paper
Developmental changes in infant heart rate responses to head-up tilting. Looks like it may have significance in your case. The conclusion being Newborns react like adults, mounting sustained increases in heart rate in response to head-up tilting, but at 2-4 mo of age sustained heart rate responses are no longer significant.
But I'm not sure how one can be sure what is the right speed to tilt a four month old as by that time the new parent is becoming somewhat more confident in handling the baby as the initial nervousness will be wearing off.

[dla]

Hi,
One of my good friends lost her 10 month old in December. Although she has not received the autopsy report back yet, her pediatrician is saying that it is SIDS. Her daughter had a temp of 104 when they arrived at the hospital. I am trying to find out if anyone knows if this is a common symptom or cause.
I joined this forum because she does not have internet access and I am trying to find a way to help her someway. It kills me to see her blame herself and to say "If only I had done" .. this or that. "Did she suffer?" ect. I know the best way to help her is to be there for her, which I am doing, I just want to try to do more.
Any responses will be greatly appreciated.
DLA

[Tsunshine]

To be honest, they really don't know what causes it, just possible causes. That's why it's called Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. If it was heart failure they would call it heart failure. If there was one sure thing that you could do to prevent it every doctor would be telling parents and every parent would do it.

Sometimes things just happen, like a child getting cancer, you can't prevent it. It just happens. Don't blame yourself.