SIDS Alert: Experts Recommend Ways To Prevent Cot Death, Say Infants Should Share Parents' Room

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has recently updated its recommendations that would protect infants against Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). One of the recommendations is that infants should share parents' room but not their beds. At present, the condition is the leading cause of death for infants below one year of age.

Medical News Today defines SIDS, also called cot death, as unexpected death of a healthy baby aged 12 months and below during sleep. In the United States, 3,500 infants die due to sleep-related causes that include accidental strangulation and suffocation in bed. Since 1990s, the overall rates of SIDS have fallen but the rates of accidental strangulation and suffocation have risen, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2014, the latter has reached 21.4 deaths per 100,000 births.

The AAP presented a new policy statement containing updated guidelines that would give a safer sleeping environment to an infant during this week's American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference & Exhibition. Among the recommended measures are placing an infant on his or her back on a firm sleep surface; avoiding infant exposure to alcohol, smoke, and illicit drugs; offering pacifier to the baby during bedtime; making sure the infant receives all necessary vaccinations; and more.

Furthermore, experts likewise recommend that infants should share parents' room, for doing so can lessen the risk of cot death by up to 50 percent.  According to CBS News, infants should share parents' room during the first six months of their lives and up to the first year. However, babies below 12 months old should not share their parents' bed, for it may lead to overlay and cause suffocation.

The journal Pediatrics published the new recommendations on October 24. Experts will discuss the recommendations on Monday during the academy annual meeting.