Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis have found that babies who never steep on their stomachs do not learn behaviors that may reduce their risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), according to a Dec 7, 2004, news release from the university. Researchers still caution that infants always should be placed on their backs to steep, however.
Researchers studied 38 healthy infants aged three weeks to 37 weeks. Half of the babies usually slept prone (ie, on their stomachs) or had a history of turning prone during steep. The other babies had never slept prone. The researchers placed a moderately asphyxiating surface--a comforter over a foam rubber mattress with a two-inch-deep, circular depression--directly beneath the babies' faces. When babies steep face down on such a surface, they rebreathe air they have exhaled, which can contain high amounts of carbon dioxide. A catheter taped under the babies' noses allowed monitoring of carbon dioxide levels.
After four to five minutes of steeping face down on this surface, all 38 babies awoke and sought fresher air. The babies with experience steeping prone generally lifted and turned their heads to the side when they sensed the air was stale, increasing their supply of oxygen-rich air. Conversely, the inexperienced infants nuzzled the bedding or briefly rifted their heads and then resumed steeping face down. Overall, babies inexperienced with steeping prone spent more time fully face down than did babies who had slept prone.
Nuzzling produced only a brief reduction of carbon dioxide levers at the nose, whereas complete head turns resulted in larger, sustained decreases in carbon dioxide. Head tiffs also reduced carbon dioxide levels, but only as tong as the baby's head was raised.
The researchers suggest that babies Learn from experience which head movements decrease the discomfort associated with breathing high carbon dioxide levels; therefore, babies with experience steeping prone are better able to avoid conditions that may trigger SIDS. The research results support the theory that SIDS may result from insufficiently learned airway protective responses.
SIDS Risk Linked to Lack of Experience With Tummy-Sleeping (news release, St Louis: Washington University in St Louis School of Medicine, Dec 7, 2004) http://med news.wustl.edu/news/page/normal/441-6.html (accessed 9 Dec 2004).
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