a. Appropriate Title. Sudden infant death syndrome, sometimes known as “crib death,” is the sudden, unexplained death of an infant without any warning.

SIDS usually occurs in apparently normal, healthy infants. Currently, no one is sure how to prevent the death of an infant from SIDS. A thorough autopsy afterward fails to reveal the cause of death.

SIDS kills about 10,000 infants each year, the infants being between the ages of 1 week and 12 months. A number of theories have been proposed to explain SIDS, but no one has been able to positively identify the cause.

b. Actions Following an Infant’s Death.

(1) Initiate CPR. Even though the infant may have been dead for some time, initiating and continuing CPR until you reach the hospital allows the family to feel that everything possible was done.

(2) Provide support. Give the family support and help relieve their feelings by guilt. Parents of a child who has died from SIDS often feel very guilty. Remind these parents that SIDS happens to babies who seem to be very healthy and who are receiving the best parental care.

Editor’s Note: Although the specific cause of death is not frequently identified, there are a number of risk factors associated with SIDS. The vast majority of (95%) of SIDS occurrences are associated with one or more of these:

Maternal factors:

• Young maternal age
• Maternal smoking during pregnancy
• Late or no prenatal care

Infant and environmental factors: 

• Preterm birth and/or low birth weight
• Twins
• Prior SIDS in a sibling
• Prone sleeping position
• Sleeping on a soft surface and/or with bedding accessories such as loose blankets and pillows 
• Bed-sharing (eg, sleeping in parents’ bed) 
• Overheating