A friend of mine is those ‘always paranoid’ kinds. Every little issue in her life is dealt with paranoia. She is those nervous types who, if she had her way, would accompany her kids to school so that they cannot come to any harm under her watchful eye!
And I remember when her first kid was born, she barely slept all night. Not that the baby kept her awake with his crying and sleeplessness (oh! he would sleep like a log through the night!), but she just ‘liked to watch him sleep’, as she professed. But knowing her well enough, I knew the reason was another. During pregnancy, while reading up all those magazines on pregnancy and motherhood, she had come across a write-up on SIDS and that really shook her up.
SIDS! Or Sudden Infant Disease Syndrome… an unexplained and sudden death of an infant. Or ‘cot death’ as how it is referred to as in the UK and other countries. After being put to bed, the infant is found dead without showing any signs of have suffered any kind of pain or disturbance.
SIDS death usually occurs to children younger than one year. They are usually in the age group of one to four months. Apparently, as per a study, boys are more prone to SIDS than girls and the rate among Afro-American and Native American infants in higher when compared to Caucasian children.
Now, what is strange about SIDS is that it happens when the baby is asleep in a cot and despite detailed investigations and much research, there is still no conclusion as to why this happens. No one knows exactly how and why otherwise-healthy babies suddenly die in their sleep.
However, what is suspected but not proven, is that the babies’ sleeping position could have a hand in the tragedy. Whether he sleeps on his stomach or back or in a supine position. It is suspected that his prone sleeping position could be the cause.
A number of other theories have been put forward as a trigger for SIDS, such as bed bugs, excessive bedding, brain disorder and more but till date, none proven. And until we do not know the reason, we won’t know how to prevent this death.
And till then, new mothers, like my friend at one time, will continue to be paranoid!

Categorized under: Young Talk