sudden infant death syndrome

sudden infant death syndrome
death from the sudden cessation of breathing (apnea) of a seemingly healthy infant, almost always during sleep, sometimes traceable to a chronic oxygen deficiency. Abbr.: SIDS Also called crib death; esp. Brit., cot death.
[1970-75]

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(SIDS),  also called  crib death,  or  cot death,  

      unexpected death of an apparently healthy infant from unexplained causes. SIDS is of worldwide incidence, and within industrialized countries it is the most common cause of death of infants between two weeks and one year old. In 95 percent of SIDS cases, infants are two to four months old.

      Sudden infant death syndrome occurs almost always during sleep at night. Its cause remains unknown. From the time of its identification, researchers have posited a number of causes—from a theory (popular in the 1960s and since discredited) that SIDS was caused by parental neglect to suggestions that SIDS was triggered by childhood vaccinations, blood disorders, and apnea (a disorder in which breathing is arrested during sleep)—but none has been borne out by further research. A higher incidence of SIDS is seen among premature and low-birth-weight infants, as well as among those born to teenagers, women who smoke heavily, and those who have received poor prenatal care. In the late 1980s researchers began to examine the brain development of infants, theorizing that some abnormality in the process of learning a response to respiratory distress would explain the syndrome.

      Because studies have shown a higher incidence of SIDS among infants who sleep on their stomachs, physicians now recommend that infants be positioned to sleep on their back or side.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Sudden infant death syndrome — Classification and external resources ICD 10 R95 ICD 9 798.0 …   Wikipedia

  • sudden infant death syndrome — n death of an apparently healthy infant usu. before one year of age that is of unknown cause and occurs esp. during sleep abbr. SIDS called also cot death, crib death * * * see cot death * * * …   Medical dictionary

  • sudden infant death syndrome — n. the sudden death, of unknown cause, of an apparently healthy infant, usually during sleep …   English World dictionary

  • Sudden Infant Death Syndrome — Sudden .Infant Death .Syndrome n [U] SIDS technical when a baby stops breathing and dies while it is sleeping, for no known reason American Equivalent: crib deathBritish Equivalent: cot death …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • sudden infant death syndrome — sudden infant death ,syndrome noun uncount SIDS: CRIB DEATH …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Sudden infant death syndrome —   [sʌdn ɪnfənt deθ sɪndrəʊm, englisch], der plötzliche Kindstod …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Sudden Infant Death Syndrome — Klassifikation nach ICD 10 R95 Plötzlicher Kindstod …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • sudden infant death syndrome — noun sudden and unexpected death of an apparently healthy infant during sleep • Syn: ↑SIDS, ↑infant death, ↑crib death, ↑cot death • Hypernyms: ↑death, ↑sleep apnea * * * noun [noncount] technical …   Useful english dictionary

  • Sudden Infant Death Syndrome — crib death, syndrome in which healthy infants die from unknown causes (usually during sleep) , SIDS …   English contemporary dictionary

  • Sudden antenatal death syndrome — or SADS, is a term used to describe the sudden death of a fetus when the cause cannot be explained. [http://www.stillnomore.org/facts.htm Surprising Facts about S.A.D.S ] ] There are approximately 30,000 cases each year in the United States.… …   Wikipedia

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