Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Definition, Age Range, Causes

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the unexplained death, usually during sleep, of a seemingly healthy baby less than a year old.

SIDS is sometimes known as crib death because infants often die in their cribs.

Although the cause is unknown, it appears that SIDS might be associated with defects in the portion of an infant’s brain that controls breathing and arousal from sleep.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Age
SIDS is also the third-leading cause of death for infants up to 1 year of age.

More than 90% of SIDS deaths occur before babies reach 6 months of age.

Even though SIDS can occur anytime during a baby’s first year, most SIDS deaths occur in babies between 1 and 4 months of age.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Range
More than 90% of SIDS deaths occur before babies reach 6 months of age.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Causes
Experts believe SIDS occurs at a particular stage in a baby’s development and that it affects babies vulnerable to certain environmental stresses.

This vulnerability may be caused by being born prematurely or having a low birth weight, or because of other reasons that have not been identified yet.