Back to Sleep and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is defined as “the sudden death of an infant under one year of age which remains unexplained after a thorough case investigation, including a complete autopsy, examination of the death scene, and review of the clinical history.”

During my time at the University of Virginia, I trained under neonatologist Dr. John Kattwinkel, a champion for newborn health and one of the leading figures in shaping national safe sleep policies. In the early 1990s, he chaired the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Task Force on Infant Sleep Position and SIDS, which laid the foundation for the landmark Back to Sleep campaign.

At that time, SIDS claimed roughly 14 infants per 10,000 live births in 1988. Following the campaign’s launch in 1994, the rate plummeted by over 60%, reaching about 5 deaths per 10,000 live births by 2006. Despite this dramatic improvement, recent data suggest that the decline has plateaued.....

Dr. M