Fans Help Protect Babies Against SIDS
Researchers reported on Monday that using a fan to circulate air actually lowered the risk of sudden infant death syndrome in a study of nearly 500 babies.
Experts recommend the best way to prevent SIDS is to put babies on their backs to sleep. They also say to use a firm mattress, remove toys and pillows from cribs, and keep infants from getting too warm.
Over a decade such practices helped slash U.S. SIDS deaths by more than half from about 2,100 in 2003.
However, SIDS remains the leading cause of death in infants’ ages 1 month to 1 year.
"The baby’s sleeping environment really matters," said study senior author Dr. De-Kun Li of the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif. "This seems to suggest that by improving room ventilation we can further reduce risk."
SIDS is the sudden death of an otherwise healthy infant that can not be attributed to any other cause.
Some wonder if these babies may have brain abnormalities that prevent them from gasping and waking when they don’t get enough oxygen.
The new study, published in October’s Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, suggests another way to make sure babies get enough air.
More research is needed, said Dr. Fern Hauck of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, but she said the fan may be worth considering.
"This is the first study that we know of that has looked at this issue," said Hauck, a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics SIDS task force.
For the study, researchers talked to mothers of 185 infants who died from SIDS and mothers of 312 infants of similar race and age.
Moms answered dozens of questions about their baby’s sleeping environment.
Researchers found that fan use was associated with a 72 percent lower risk of SIDS.
Mothers reported 3 percent of the babies who died had a fan on in the room during their last sleep, the mothers reported. That compared to 12 percent of the babies who lived.
The study involved infants in 11 California counties, and was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health.
—
On the Net: