Is Soft Bedding Dangerous?... 47 Infants Died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Before Their First Birthday Last Year

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Accounts for 8% of All Infant Deaths
Experts Stress the Importance of Creating a Safe Sleep Environment

It was found that the number of infants who died suddenly before their first birthday approached 50 last year.

On October 8, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing the "2024 Cause of Death Statistics" from the National Data Office, that there were 47 deaths from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) last year.

This figure accounts for 8.3% of all infant deaths (deaths within one year of birth), which is an increase of two compared to the previous year. The proportion also rose by 0.3 percentage points.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome refers to cases where a baby under one year of age dies unexpectedly and the cause of death cannot be identified.

Yonhap News Agency

This ranked as the third leading cause of infant death, following certain conditions originating in the perinatal period (45.2%) and congenital malformations, deformations, and chromosomal abnormalities (18.4%). The mortality rate was 20.4 per 100,000 people.

It is known that Sudden Infant Death Syndrome occurs mostly during sleep. Experts advise that creating a safe sleep environment can reduce the risk of sudden death. Although perfect prevention is difficult, deaths suspected to be caused by suffocation can be prevented.

Moon Jinsoo, a professor at Seoul National University Children's Hospital, emphasized, "Letting a baby sleep in the same bed as parents, placing the baby face down, or using soft bedding increases the risk of sudden death." This is because infants cannot properly support their heads and have weak breathing strength, so if a soft blanket covers their nose or a caregiver rolls over onto them, the risk of suffocation is high.

Professor Moon also added, "It is very important that caregivers do not smoke."

The Korean Pediatric Society recommends the following to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: always place babies under one year old on their backs to sleep, do not use soft bedding, and do not let babies sleep in the same bed as parents.

In addition, once a baby starts rolling over, swaddling should be discontinued, and the use of positioners such as pillow supports to fix the baby's posture should also be avoided.