Learn about the biggest fear of new parents - SIDS or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Pediatrician Dr. Martha Rivera provides the latest recommendations on how to lower a baby's risk of SIDS.

Video Transcription

How to Avoid SIDS Speaker: It's one of the biggest fears of the parents of newborn babies. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS. Sometimes it's even called crib death. SIDS is when an infant inexplicably stops breathing while sleeping. There are steps you can take to reduce the risk, but first know that there are no warning signs. Martha Rivera: The cause of SIDS has always remained unknown. It does affect a certain populations more than others, premature babies, babies between one and three months, there is more incidents of SIDS, but it can be seen up to one year of age also. It also affects children of lower socioeconomic status, more in the African-American, the Native Americans or other risk factors being exposed maternal smoking during pregnancy or if a mother smokes or the secondary hand smoke and also associated with certain things as far as sleep positions. So sleeping face down and also sleeping to the side. Because if you sleep to the side you can actually roll over and face down. Co-sleeping another problem. Sleeping with the parent in the same bed or if beds have a lot of soft bedding, pillows those kind of things that can obstruct the airway and overheating. Female Speaker: It was in 1992 the doctors 129 flip flop on the babies recommended sleeping position. They said, no more to babies sleeping on their stomach. They say that's what cause the recent drop in death. Scientists are challenging other widely held beliefs. Martha Rivera: There is a controversy whether it's good to have babies sleep to bond with the parents, but then the parents can sleep heavily and crush the baby or have suffocation of the babies covered with the blanket. Speaker: Now doctors recommend having your baby sleep in the same room with you, but in a crib. Martha Rivera: If you are more cognizant about baby and the behaviors and mothers never sleep well anyway. So you always hear your baby when they move, you hear a difference, you can hear their aspirating, you just get a sense of there something going on. So actually sleeping in the same room is recommended, not sleeping in the same bed. Speaker: So as much as we may like to snuggle with our babies, the newest recommendations in the American Academy of Pediatrics is for babies not to sleep with the dogs or other children in a bed, couch, or armchair. Experts are also rethinking the pros and cons of letting the newborns sleep with the pacifier. In the past, the advice was absolutely not. Martha Rivera: Now they are actually advocated to be use because when the baby sucking on the pacifier, they don't get into that really deep sleep and so they are actually rousable more and so they are stating that you should put them to sleep, but put them to sleep with the pacifier, don't put the pacifier in after they've fallen sleep. Speaker: Dr. Rivera says, education is the key to preventing SIDS. Martha Rivera: Coming to the Well-Child visits, preventive medicines, anticipatory guidance those a lot discussed at the Well-Child visits. So it's important not to miss any of the visits. Speaker: And make sure you immediately tell your pediatrician if your baby has periods of not breathing, going limp or turning blue. So to recap, the most important things parents should do are -- always put the baby on its back, not on his side or stomach to sleep. Don't expose the baby to cigarette smoke, during pregnancy or after it's born. Put your newborn in a crib in the same room you are sleep in. Be sure the baby sleeps on a firm mattress with a fitted sheet. Keep the crib free of blanket, comforters, soft toys or pillows, things that can block normal breathing and of course, keep the room warm enough, put the baby to sleep in light weight clothes, again, without a blanket and lastly make sure anyone in the family or household talking care of your baby knows about the SIDS recommendation.