Editing Infant mortality (section)

==== Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) ====
{{Main|Sudden infant death syndrome}}

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is defined as the sudden death of an infant less than one year of age with no cause detected after a thorough investigation. SIDS is more common in Western countries.<ref name="Duncan_2018">{{Cite book |title=SIDS Sudden infant and early childhood death: The past, the present and the future |vauthors=Duncan JR, Byard RW, Duncan JR, Byard RW |publisher=University of Adelaide Press |year=2018 |isbn=9781925261677 |veditors=Duncan JR, Byard RW |pages=15–50 |chapter=Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: An Overview |jstor=10.20851/j.ctv2n7f0v.6 |pmid=30035964 |jstor-access=free}}</ref> The [[United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] report SIDS to be the leading cause of death in infants aged one month to one year of life.<ref name="cdc.gov">{{Cite web |date=2020-01-28 |title=Sudden Unexpected Infant Death and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome |url=https://www.cdc.gov/sids/index.htm |access-date=2020-07-30 |website=www.cdc.gov |language=en-us}}</ref> Even though researchers are not sure what causes SIDS, they have found that putting babies to sleep on their backs, instead of their stomachs, lowers the risk. Campaigns like [[Safe to Sleep|Back to Sleep]] have used this research to lower the SIDS death rate by 50%.<ref>{{Cite journal |vauthors=Willinger M, Hoffman HJ, Hartford RB |date=May 1994 |title=Infant sleep position and risk for sudden infant death syndrome: report of meeting held January 13 and 14, 1994, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD |url=http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/93/5/814.long |journal=Pediatrics |volume=93 |issue=5 |pages=814–9 |doi=10.1542/peds.93.5.814 |pmid=8165085 |s2cid=245121375}}</ref> Though the exact cause is unknown, the "triple-risk model" presents three factors that together may contribute to SIDS: smoking while pregnant, the age of the infant, and stress from conditions such as prone sleeping, [[co-sleeping]], overheating, and covering of the face or head.<ref name="Duncan_2018" /> In the early 1990s, it was argued that immunizations could contribute to an increased risk of SIDS; however, more recent support the idea that vaccinations reduce the risk of SIDS.<ref>{{Cite journal |vauthors=Vennemann MM, Höffgen M, Bajanowski T, Hense HW, Mitchell EA |date=June 2007 |title=Do immunisations reduce the risk for SIDS? A meta-analysis |journal=Vaccine |volume=25 |issue=26 |pages=4875–9 |doi=10.1016/j.vaccine.2007.02.077 |pmid=17400342}}</ref>

In the United States, approximately 3,500 infant deaths are sleep-related, a category that includes SIDS.<ref name="moon-2016">{{Cite journal |vauthors=Moon RY |date=November 2016 |title=SIDS and Other Sleep-Related Infant Deaths: Evidence Base for 2016 Updated Recommendations for a Safe Infant Sleeping Environment |journal=Pediatrics |volume=138 |issue=5 |pages=e20162940 |doi=10.1542/peds.2016-2940 |pmid=27940805 |s2cid=5744617 |doi-access=free}}</ref> To reduce sleep-related infant deaths, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends providing infants with safe-sleeping environments, breastfeeding, and immunizing according to the recommended [[Vaccination schedule|immunization schedule]]. They recommend against the use of a [[pacifier]] and recommend avoiding exposure to smoke, alcohol, and illicit drugs during and after pregnancy.<ref name="moon-2016" />