Angelique Smith
June 18, 2020
SIDS
SIDS stands for sudden Infant Death Syndrome, but it is also known as sudden
unexpected infant death (SUID). In a nutshell, SIDS is the sudden death of a baby under 12
months from either accidental death or natural causes. Some risk factors include second-hand
smoke, respiratory infections, family poverty, being a male, and prenatal exposure to illicit
drugs. Several protective steps loved ones can do for their infants include, but are not limited to,
putting the baby to bed on their back, no sharing a crib with another infant or parent, and
switching up the sleeping position frequently. After a SIDS death the family, tend to blame
themselves and wonder what else they could have done to prevent such a tragedy; which is why
there are support websites and counseling available to help the family deal with their grief and
other emotions. The loss of an infant has a lasting effect on the family and never goes away but
through coping mechanisms and love the family can eventually get past some of the hurt.
Although there is no definitive way to prevent SIDS those are just the recommendations to
reduce the amount of SIDS deaths occurring annually.