New Studies Try to Better Understand SIDS
The most recent study, published in the October issue of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, looked at whether or not having a fan in the room that the baby sleeps in helps reduce the incidence of SIDS. They found that infants with the fan in their room had a 72 percent lower risk of SIDS compared to those infants without the fan. They also found that the fan was most effective for infants in high-risk environments (like sleeping on their stomachs or in overheated rooms)
The other studies looked at how parents and caregivers are implementing existing guidelines for reducing SIDS deaths. One study found that at three months of age, parents were not following some of the recommendations/guidelines for preventing SIDS.
The rest of the article was really interesting, as it focused on other issues concerning SIDS. For example, that some babies are more susceptible to SIDS than others, and other mysteries surrounding SIDS.
You can read the article, published in Newsweek, here.