Why does having baby in your room actually reduce risk of SIDS?

[ladypop]

Just that really! I know it does, but why? Our first born went in own room at 4 months and probably going to do the same with this one (currently 9wks)

Something to do with your breathing helping them to regulate their own. And of course you're right there should anything happen (if you're awake)

I'd be interested to know the research behind this as well. It all sounds a bit vague if I'm honest! My baby went into own room at 2 weeks and it was definitely the right thing for us all. As far as I'm aware SIDS is unexplained sudden death. Always wondered how you can reduce the risk of an unexplained death. Would love to know if these suggestions to reduce risk are actually medical fact or just medical heresay/opinion?? I never felt guilty for moving my newborn into her own room, but always feel defensive about my decision. I really should look into it more for my next baby!

I did look into this at the time, I think the guideline is not particularly based on great research and the studies were mainly looking at co sleeping rather than room sharing per say. I did write in a thread about it - I'll try and track it down. My DS was in his own room at 3 weeks.

I'll try and find the numbers tomorrow.

Don't dismiss it though. The numbers suggest that babies in their own room are statistically more likely to die from SIDS. I don't think anybody really knows why.

It's to do with preventing babies from falling into too deep a sleep and forgetting to breathe (so they think). There may also be a higher level of CO2 in a shared room which triggers the inhaling reflex, but that is more likely to apply to cosleepers.

I am not convinced of the science, tbh

But I think it is around you being more tuned into their breathing and more "aware" in that you will wake more quickly and rouse baby before an "event" IYSWIM

So, perhaps a very tiny twofold effect...both on parents and baby ?

I didn't put mine in their own rooms until 6 months. A tiny effect is still an effect, to me (even if it is placebo)

I don't think they have any hard proof why, but the statistics are sound and it's worth paying attention IMO.

Another reason could be that you can react to changes in temperature of the room and adjust the baby's clothing/blankets accordingly.

Agree with the CO2 thing but I'm not a scientist! My sister was told by HV to move her dd into older ds's room as it would have the same positive effect as her breathing out.
Ds was in our room for first 6 months but has been in his own room for almost 6 months now. We're staying with relatives tonight so he's in a travel cot next to me and I've discovered he bloody well snores!!

I've had all 3 of mine in our room as newborns and I think the reduction in risk is almost immeasurable to scientist as it is all about instinct.

I have heard about the baby's breathing being regulated by sharing a room as well but I am also convinced that I have been able to wake up without anything disturbing me to discover that my ds was too hot, had wriggled under a blanket or needed another layer.

As others have said, any reduction in risk is worth following the advice for and I've always enjoyed them being in with me anyway.

me too

those early months are very precious (and pass all too soon)

In my mind the stakes are too high not to minimise any risk.

I had DS1 aons ago, and haven't yet had the sleeping/SIDS chat with my mw for DC2, but I'm really concerned about how little knowledge is around about why parents are told to do certain things, particularly around SIDS.

I'm not in any way criticising anyone here, but it does make me wonder why the info isn't getting through!

I mentioned SIDS risk to a newly pregnant friend recently, and she didn't even know what it was. Is it so rare that we've become complacement?!

I remember noticing with both of mine, when they were newborn, that the sound of me taking a deep breath would make them take a deep breath too, especially if they were asleep.

Also, while asleep, if they had one of those scary little gaps in their breathing (all newborns seem to have them - they only last a few seconds really but seem like forever to a paranoid mother) any kind of sound from me would rouse them enough to make them breathe again. It could be as small as a movement, a slight cough, a breath.

I seem to remember reading that being alone in a silent room could make them fall into a sleep that was too deep, and that is where the SIDS risk lies. But I could be wrong.

(I co-slept and spent far too much time just listening to them breathing. It was lovely, actually.)

Just how rare is it these days? I remember years back it being a lot?

this website gives the most up to date advice

Thanks AnyFucker - looks like a great website ... Particularly for DH.

I read about so many new mums on here who are confused about blankets and swaddling and grobags, and who worry about babies being cold, but not about them getting too warm! I just worry that the message isn't getting through.

Ninja, SIDS has always been rare but it did go through a phase of being in the news quite a lot a few years ago

publicity is fairly quiet these days because the advice has not changed significantly in recent years

I just think that, for most of human history, our caves, huts and houses were too small and our families too large for babies to have had a huge cot in a room to themselves. It just doesn't feel quite right.

While studies show that SIDS is less prevalent with babies who sleep in the same room as their parents, nothing has been able to conclusively prove that this is a causative link. There are lots of SIDS risk factors and no one has yet managed to work out how they interplay. So it may be that sleeping in the same room really does cause less SIDS, OR it may be that parents who sleep near their baby also tend to have other low risk factors which play a greater part in determining whether it happens.

The regulation of breathing theory intrigues me as I wonder what this means for babies who are deaf - are they at higher risk because they can't hear their parents breathing? I can't find anything that says this is the case, so I do wonder about that theory.

Ultimately, the risk of SIDS is miniscule. Putting baby in their own room makes that risk slightly less miniscule but still tiny nonetheless. So you need to weigh up all the risk factors and put baby to sleep wherever is right for you as a family.

Being in our room at 8w saved our baby's life. After feeding her I'd put her back into her cot and nipped to the bathroom. Dh heard her make a small 'funny noise' and got her out of the cot. I came back to find her gasping for air. All silent. We rushed to a&e trying to keep her breathing. They took an hour and a half to stabilise her. We were kept in over the weekend for observation. No cause was found and her notes record a near-miss cot-death. If she had been in her own room, I would have put her back into her cot and would have known nothing until the next morning when it would have been too late.
Anecdotal, I know, and every baby is different and I had previously put other babies into their own room before 6m but never after the above experience.
So, on that basis, I would agree with the advice to keep your baby in same room as you until 6months.

One of my children has epilepsy and we tend to share a room more often than most parents and children. I have often woken up when she is having a seizure, despite the fact there is no sound and often no movement with her seizures. I think it's an instinct thing.