This week, Bobbi Conner talks with Dr. Sara Ritchie about creating a safe-sleep environment for infants to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Dr. Ritchie is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and pediatrician at MUSC Children’s Health.
TRANSCRIPT:
Conner: I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio with Health Focus here at the radio studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Creating a safe sleep environment for your infant can help reduce risk of sudden infant death syndrome, or accidental death from suffocation or strangulation. Doctor Sara Ritchie is here to talk about the details. Doctor Ritchie is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics, and she's a pediatrician at MUSC Children's Health. Doctor Ritchie, what does the research tell us about the importance of creating a safe sleep environment for infants to help reduce the risk of SIDs?
Dr. Ritchie: While there's no guaranteed way to prevent SIDs, we do have very strong research that shows that creating a safe sleep environment can significantly reduce the risk of SIDs for your infant.
Conner: Tell us the basics of what parents and caregivers do need to know to provide a safe sleep environment for their infant.
Dr. Ritchie: We first recommend placing infants to sleep on their back, so definitely not on their tummies. It's very important that they're on their backs, and it's also important for them to be on a firm, flat, non-inclined surface. And a crib or a bassinet is perfect for this, but it needs to be free from soft bedding. So, no bumpers, no extra blankets, no pillows, no toys, no lovies. Just a fitted sheet is enough. And we also recommend avoid overheating by dressing your baby in light sleep clothing and avoid head coverings such as a hat. Also, again, to avoid overheating.
Conner: And when it comes to recommendations for safe sleep for infants, as you're outlining what ages of infant are we really talking about here?
Dr. Ritchie: We are referring to all babies who are under the age of one. But we also have to keep in mind that the peak incidence of SIDs is under the age of six months, and so it's important for all ages, but extra precautions in that less than six month age group.
Conner: And I understand the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend bed-sharing with parent and infant in the same bed. Instead, they recommend room- sharing. Tell us about that recommendation.
Dr. Ritchie: The recommendation advises against bed-sharing under any circumstances, and this is because of the increased risk of suffocation, entrapment and sudden infant death. This absolute safest recommendation is to place your baby on a separate but safe sleep surface in the same room. And ideally, we want to be in the same room until at least six months of age, and this can actually reduce the risk of SIDs by up to 50%.
Conner: Are there any other ways to lower SIDs risk for infants?
Dr. Ritchie: Some additional preventative measures that we recommend include breastfeeding, receiving routine immunizations as recommended. We also recommend working on daily supervised tummy time while your baby's awake. That can be preventative. Offering a pacifier at sleep times, during naps, and during the night, that's been found to be preventative. Previously we didn't recommend for or against pacifiers, but in the 2022 guidelines we have found them to be protective during sleep. Also, we know that parental or caregiver use of tobacco products, alcohol and drugs, and that includes vaping and marijuana that can increase the risk of SIDs. So, we also recommend avoiding those things as well.
Conner: Doctor Richie, thanks for this information about safe sleep for infants.
Dr. Ritchie: You’re welcome.
Conner: From the radio studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio.
Health Focus transcripts are intended to accurately represent the original audio version of the program; however, some discrepancies or inaccuracies may exist. The audio format serves as the official record of Health Focus programming.
