Important Information about SIDS

I was reading my parenting magazine and they had this article called "Lost Babies" I was shocked at some of the info they offered on SIDS. If you have a baby or know someone who has a baby, I encourage you to go to parenting.com and look it up. One of the things it said, which I was shocked about, was that putting a baby to bed with a pacifier reduces the risk of SIDS by up to 90%! Can you believe that! 90% is a lot! I had a hard time getting Tyler to get off of the binkie when he turned 2. I figured he was old enough that he didn't need it but he was one of those that used it to get himself to sleep. It was hard but we did it. I was thinking about not even getting binkies for the next baby since Tyler was SO attached to his but after reading this I will be buying them for sure! They think the reason it prevents it is because babies who sleep with binkies don't fall asleep as deeply but they aren't sure. I don't even care the reason as long as it helps my kid stay alive past the age of 2! I will give you the other 3 things it said helps, aside from the ever so obvious 'lay your baby to sleep on their backs'. Even that since they came out with it in 1992 about 6000 babies died in their sleep from SIDS. But now because we know to put kids to sleep on their backs its down to 4500. Thats quiet a lot from one simple rule! Okay here are the other 3 things:

Put the Baby Down Alone. NO blankets, pillows, stuffed animals, or overly big bumper pads that don't stay on well until the baby is at least 4 months old. Also use a certified safe crib with a firm mattress.

Avoid over heating. This sounds so easy but a lot of mothers of certain Ethic backgrounds over swaddle their babies. Don't over swaddle. Make sure their room at night and nap time is a good temperature between 68 and 75 degrees.

And lastly, NO SMOKING! The babies of mothers who smoked while pregnant are more vulnerable but second hand smoke also rises the risk. SO DON'T DO IT AND DON'T LET OTHER PEOPLE DO IT AROUND YOUR BABY!

OKay so that was my rant on SIDS. Seriously read the article because it gives a lot more information then just that. I was just so shocked about the pacifier thing that I had to write this.

Another thing I found in the parenting magazine that made me laugh was another study by BYU ( that's what was funny about it to me was that BYU did the study ) was that Happily married couples are less likely to have problems with blood pressure and lessen the risk of heart disease. The catch is that being unhappily married is worse for you in those areas then being single! haha So be happy people and if you aren't happy in your marriage try and fix things for your health! :)