SIDS or sudden infant death syndrome is the number one cause of death among children from a month old up to one year. The syndrome causes more deaths between the ages of two and four months than any other time during their first year of life. The mysterious syndrome kills at least up to 2,500 children a year and even though the number of children who have died from SIDS has declined over the past 4 decades, it is still very much the concern of many parents and pediatricians.

The child was one of two infants born to two mothers. After one infant died while sleeping with his mother, the distraught mother switched her child with the live child who was also sleeping with his mother. This, of course, cause great turmoil for the second mother, who found herself arguing over which child belonged to whom. Solomon was asked to intercede.

SIDS seems to be a combination of many factors: immature development of cardio-respiratory control mechanisms, failure to wake from sleep in response to breathing difficulties, medical conditions that compromise breathing, and unsafe sleeping practices. SIDS researchers now also believe that many SIDS deaths are attributable to suffocation rather than a defective physiological or neurological response from the baby. Suffocation results from the baby breathing and re-breathing the same air until the oxygen in the air is depleted.

1. Always put your baby to sleep on her back. A 2000 study conducted by the AAP indicated that belly-sleeping has up to 12.9 times the SIDS risk as back-sleep.

2. Put your baby to sleep on a firm surface. A firm mattress with a tight fitting sheet is ideal. Never place soft blankets or comforters under your sleeping baby.

3. Keep your baby's sleeping area free of soft objects including pillows, comforters, and stuffed animals. Crib bumbers should not be fluffy or pillow-like. They should be firm, thin, and well-secured to the crib. Loose blankets should be eliminated as well as they could easily end up over your baby's head.

4. Quit smoking. Smoking during pregnancy is a major SIDS risk factor. Second-hand smoke is also considered a threat so don't think you are free to light up after baby is born.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS, is a random, unexpected tragedy that happens in an estimated 50 out of 100,000 births. Parents are often left wondering what they did wrong, when really, even scientists do not understand the cause of SIDS. There are some theories, of course, but no conclusive evidence. SIDS remains an angel of death that brings sadness in its wake.

SIDS is the leading cause of 2,500 infants death aged 1 month to 1 year old annually, and the third leading cause of overall infant mortality in the United States, and deaths tend to peak in winter months. SIDS isn't any one illness or disease, it is frightening because it can strike without warning, usually in a seemingly healthy infant.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or (SIDS) is an unexpected infant death. Yes, it is sudden and unexpected and not really a syndrome when the final outcome is not what we as parents want for our baby. Thorough autopsy and examination of the death scene and circumstances at time of death reveal no identifiable cause of the baby's death.

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