Health Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
Never bed babies like they do on diaper packs
Status: 03.11.2023 | Reading time: 2 minutes
Place the infant on its back to sleep. Correct here
Source: picture alliance/Westend61/Ian Spanier
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Diaper packs usually advertise with cute baby pictures. But in several European countries, sleeping infants are shown in a way that they shouldn’t be lying down. Researchers fear sudden infant death syndrome – and give advice.
According to a study, sleeping babies on diaper packs in Europe are often not depicted in accordance with the sleep recommendations against sudden infant death syndrome. This is shown by a study of diaper packs for infants under five kilograms in Germany and ten other European countries, which was published in the “Journal of Pediatrics”.
In total, the scientists found 311 diaper packs in the eleven countries showing sleeping babies. Almost 80 percent of them violated at least one of three recommendations against sudden infant death syndrome: for example, they did not show the baby while sleeping on its back, next to loose objects or lying next to another person.
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In Germany, only a quarter of the diaper packs examined with sleeping babies depicted infants in accordance with the prevention tips. The experts recommend that the law only allow images on child care products that comply with the sleep recommendations against sudden infant death syndrome.
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) refers to rapid and unexpected deaths of infants that are classified as natural. The risk of SIDS is considered to be highest in the second to fourth months of life and decreases by the end of the first year of life. Children almost always die in their sleep.
The exact causes of the deaths are not clearly understood, but researchers have identified various risk factors and urge prevention. Since the beginning of the 1990s, the number of sudden infant deaths in Germany has fallen rapidly. While 1,285 babies died of SIDS nationwide in 1991, around 1.5 in 1,000 infants, in 2020 there were 84 – only 0.1 in 1,000 infants.
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Experts from the German Society for Sleep Research and Sleep Medicine recommend placing the infant on its back in its own cot to sleep. The child should lie on a firm and level surface, i.e. not on a slope, and should not be tightly wrapped up to sleep. Too much heat should be avoided; a room temperature of 18 degrees is optimal at night. Instead of a blanket, a baby sleeping bag is suitable. Parents should avoid pillows, fur pads or large cuddly toys that the infant could use to cover themselves.
The experts also recommend ensuring a smoke-free environment during pregnancy, offering the baby a pacifier to sleep and always making sure that the child’s airways are clear. They also recommend breastfeeding for at least four to six months.