Before I was pregnant I had a friend whose baby died in the
night and no cause was ever found. I try not to think about
it, but now that I have my own precious baby, it does pop
into my mind regularly. How can I reassure myself that it
won’t happen to me?
Statistics show that less that 0.05% of babies
die in circumstances that are never explained. These deaths
are lumped together as ‘sudden infant death syndrome’
or DIDS and this is every parent’s worst nightmare.
The risk of SIDS is at its greatest from 2- 4 months, and
is uncommon after 6 months. There is an increased risk for
babies whose mothers smoked or did not take good care during
pregnancy, as well as very low birth weight babies. But even
so the risk is extremely low. It is a good idea for members
of the household to be trained in baby CPR, which can be a
reassuring skill to know. If the fear of SIDs becomes problematic
to you it may be useful to seek counselling.
<<
back
For
more info see index >>
|
