What You Should Know About SIDS and SUDC

We as new parents, or parents to a newborn baby, have much to worry over. Our children cry and we do not know why, we go through a ritual of trial and error every time our new little ones need or want something, looking forward to that moment they would stop crying. Our concern is, of course, for our child, but for our own sanity as well. A sleeping child is a peaceful child, which in turn makes for a relaxed and peaceful parent. Unfortunately it is while our babies are sleeping peacefully that our most fearful affliction strikes.

SIDS is a new parents biggest fear amidst so many fears. And after our child turns safely six months old we take a small sigh of relief, they are almost there, almost out of infancy and into toddler hood, where SIDS does not live. Or so we thought.

SUDC, or sudden unexplained/unexpected death in childhood, is a lesser known but just as fearful disorder that afflicts children from twelve months to eleven years of age. This invisible adverserary sneaks up on seemingly healthy children in their peacefull slumber just as SIDS does Babies twelve months and younger. So why is it parents are tragically caught unaware by this affliction?

The leading cause of death in children from one month to one year of age is SIDS(sudden infant death syndrome). While SIDS affects a significantly high number of infants every year, currently 2,500 deaths in America, and countless more in outside countries, that's 56 of every 100,000 live births in America alone. SUDC takes 1.3 children's lives out of 100,000 live births annualy(statistics from www.cjsids.com). That is not to imply that SUDC is insignificant, indeed, to every family who experiences a child's death to SUDC it is very significant. But, it is due to these low numbers of deaths every year that SUDC is commonly unknown to parents even though SIDS and SUDC are so alike.

SUDC is a death in a child from 1 year to 11 years of age, where all known causes have been excluded and SIDS is the death in a infant from 1 to12 months of age where all known causes have been excluded. What make these syndromes so frightening is parents have no defense against SIDS and SUDC.