Several factors can cause a baby to get insufficient oxygen. For example, babies might not get enough oxygen when they breathe air that is trapped in soft beds or in folds of blankets near their mouths. In such circumstances, they are breathing in their own exhaled carbon dioxide, rather than the oxygen available in the air. A normal baby's brain gets the warning about the insufficient oxygen, but a baby with the serotonin abnormality does not.
A baby can also experience breathing difficulties from respiratory infections such as a cold or other ailment. This fact might explain why SIDS is more likely to occur in the winter, when the risk of infection is higher and, at the same time, babies are more likely to be sleeping with extra bedclothes or blankets.
Researchers have investigated other possible physical problems that could contribute to the risk of SIDS. One possible factor is an immune system disorder that creates too many white blood cells and proteins, which disrupt the brain's control over breathing and heart rate.
SIDS might be caused by a combination of factors, including some that have yet to be identified.
Who Is at Risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome?
SIDS can happen any time within the first year, but it occurs most often between the second and fourth month after birth. It seldom occurs the first two weeks following birth or after six months. The vast majority of babies do not experience SIDS even if they sleep on their stomachs, have infections, or sleep with blankets in their cribs. Others who sleep on their backs in ideal conditions still die of SIDS. No warning signs of SIDS are evident before a baby dies. Doctors only diagnose it after ruling out other possible causes of death.
Although research is beginning to suggest causes for SIDS, no test is yet available to predict who will die of the disorder.
What Are the Risk Factors for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome?
A baby is more likely to die of SIDS if the baby has:
* A mother who smoked during pregnancy
* A mother younger than 20 years of age
* A mother who did not receive proper medical care before her baby was born
* A birth before the full nine months of a normal pregnancy
* A lower than normal birth weight
* Family members who smoked around the baby
In addition, babies who are strictly bottle-fed have a higher risk of SIDS. One possible reason is that breast-feeding helps reduce the risk of the types of infections that may contribute to breathing problems.
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