Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

* Re “Smoke Makes SIDS Risks Soar, Study Finds,” July 26:

Recent reports of research studies on sudden infant death syndrome conducted in the United States and Britain hailing the success of “Back to Sleep” campaigns in reducing the SIDS death rate (placing the baby on its back rather than on its stomach) and linking smoking and other environmental factors to an increased “risk” for SIDS seem to underplay or leave out entirely the most fundamental point about the status of SIDS research efforts.

Researchers don’t know what causes this leading killer of babies between the ages of 2 weeks and 1 year. Because the underlying causes of SIDS remain unknown, all newborn infants are potentially at risk for SIDS.

Babies placed on their backs to sleep still die of SIDS. Babies not exposed to cigarette smoke still die of SIDS. Babies who are breast fed, who have had wonderful prenatal care, who were full term and of normal birth weight, who have parents who have not abused drugs, in short, who have no known risk factors, still die from SIDS.

As the result of the way these research studies are presented, the public may come to view SIDS as somehow “preventable” if we simply alter the child’s environment. Of even greater concern to me is the effect of these reports on families who have lost a child to SIDS, and they still number around 500 a year in California, and between 4,500 and 5,000 nationally.

The last thing we need to do to parents who suffer this tragedy is stigmatize or marginalize them. The simple truth is that SIDS can, and does, claim any baby, in spite of parents doing “everything right.”

BARRY S. BROKAW

SIDS Alliance Board of Directors

Sacramento