Maria David
BABIES need a proper place to sleep, and the best way to keep the little ones safe is in their own baby bed with no obstructions that could harm them such as sheets or other bedding in which they can become entangled or parents that accidentally roll onto them while asleep.
Many parents take babies to bed with them, especially in the first few months when most infants wake up often throughout the night. Sadly, babies have died of suffocation in the process.
Doctor Jamaldeen Idruss, a specialist paediatrician at Ongwediva Medi-park, said Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) also known as Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI), commonly occurs in infants from one month to one year but peaks at two to four months of age.
Idruss said environmental stresses that contribute to SIDS include getting tangled in bedding, a minor illness, a breathing obstruction and bed sharing.
“Do not sleep on a bed, sofa, or armchair with your baby. Adult beds are not safe for infants. A baby can become trapped and suffocate between the headboard slats, the space between the mattress and the bed frame, or the space between the mattress and the wall,” he said.
Idruss said that a baby can also suffocate if a sleeping parent accidentally rolls over and covers the baby’s nose and mouth.
Parents should especially not share a bed with their baby if one of the parents smokes or takes drugs, has recently drunk alcohol or if the baby was born prematurely or weighed under 2.5 kg at birth.
Idruss said the risk of SIDS is lowered if an infant sleeps in the same room as the parents and the risk increases if the baby sleeps in the same bed with parents, siblings or pets. Also, as much as it is recommended to keep babies warm, overheating while sleeping increases a baby’s risk of SIDS.
“Let your baby sleep in a cot or Moses basket in the same room as you for the first six months,” he advised.
He urged people to always place babies on their backs to sleep with their heads uncovered. The blanket should be tucked in no higher than their shoulders.
“Babies sleeping on their belly might have more difficulty breathing than those placed on their backs. Also lying face down on a fluffy comforter, a soft mattress or a waterbed can block an infant’s airway,” he said.
Idruss said the proportion of SUID cases placed to sleep in the side position was reported as 53% to 64% compared to 10% to 12% in the supine or back position.
He said 23.6% to 37% of SUID cases were placed in the prone position or lying on the belly. The safe sleeping position for babies is the supine position (sleeping on their back).
“While SIDS has long been recognized as a leading preventable cause of infant mortality in high-income countries, little is known about the burden of SIDS in Africa and especially here in Namibia,” he added.
“The exact cause of SIDS is not known but it’s thought to be due to a combination of factors,” he said.
Three cases of baby suffocation were reported in the Omusati Region in the past six months.
