[New guidelines for reducing the risk of sudden infant death. "Triple risk model" provide the basis for prevention]

Abstract

The Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare has presented new advice to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, SIDS, supplemented with factual material for health personnel. The advice state: 1) The infant should sleep on its back, 2) parents should refrain from nicotine, 3) the infant’s face should be kept free, overheating avoided and movements not restrained, 4) the safest place to sleep for an infant under three months is in its own cot, 5) breast-feed if possible, and 6) pacifier (dummy) can be used when the infant is going to sleep. Apparent life-threatening events in the maternity ward are discussed. In early breast-feeding attempts, it should be checked that breathing is free to avoid suffocation accidents. The best hypothesis of SIDS pathogenesis seems to be offered by the triple risk model, suggesting that an interaction of different risk factors leads to SIDS: 1) a critical developmental period, 2) a vulnerable infant and 3) an exogenous stressor (extrinsic risk factor).