Currently there are no options to determine which children are at greater risk of SIDS, so it is difficult to totally prevent it. Nevertheless, you can do a number of things that can increase the safety of your child while sleeping.


1. Using the breathing monitor

The most effective prevention is to use the breathing monitor, ideally one that is certified as a medical device. Breathing monitor is a monitoring device that continuously detects child's breathing movements, and triggers an audible and visual alarm when recording a life-threatening slowdown, irregularity or apnea. This way the monitor helps to call help of an adult in a time to save baby's life.


2. Sleeping on back

Perhaps the most important safety rule and prevention of SIDS is to put your baby to sleep on their back. Since 1994, when the "Back to Sleep" campaign was launched, the amount of the incidence of SIDS reduced by 50%. Thanks to this simple rule the lives of almost 25,000 children has been protected in the past century. It is very important to know that it is not safe to put the children to sleep on their side. Children who are put to sleep on the side tend to roll over on their stomach, which causes that the risk of SIDS is 18 times higher than for babies who sleep on their backs.


3. Safe Cot

Children should sleep in cots that meet current safety regulations and parameters. The mattress should be firm, it should completely fill the frame of the cot, and it should be covered with a well fitting sheet. Sheet should never be too loose or excessing the size of the mattrass, etc. That creates risk that child gets entangled in his sleep. It is also recommended not to use pillows, blankets or other objects such as toys or stuffed animals. Ideally, you should use the blanket-to-wear for your child. This provides maximum safety as well as comfortable warm sleep for your baby. Children under one year of age should not sleep in the same bed with their parents or on water beds, on the couch. Also, they should not sleep in linen or blanket made of sheepskin. Baby should never put or fixed to a certain position using positioning wedges or pads. Besides the fact that those are not intended for this purpose, they don't guarantee that the child remains in such position throughout the night. On the contrary, they can be dangerous if the child is turning around or otherwise moving during his sleep.


4. Covering baby's head

Make sure that your child does not have any head cover during sleep. It was proved that children who had their heads covered are much more exposed to the risk of SIDS. When covering their head would be needed, such as when the sun shines, or there is too much noise around, try not to cover the head of a sleeping baby with a pillow, hat, or so. Any such barrier creates an closed-up area in which the exhaled air with insufficient oxygen can get collected, which then surrounds the baby's face and can lead to SIDS or suffocation.


5. Rules for sharing bed

No matter how tempting it might be or however your baby might like it, try not to leave your child in the same bed for the night as you sleep in. This applies particularly for children under 12 months of age or for children born prematurely and with low birth weight. It is perfectly fine to take your baby into bed to feed or cuddle, but when it's time to sleep, the baby should sleep in their own safe crib, ideally in your bedroom. One of the reasons why co-sleeping is so dangerous for infants is the presence of large amounts of bedding (blankets, pillows), and also the danger of crushing the child by an adult, especially if the adult is extremely tired or under the influence of sedatives, drugs for suffering with insomnia. Not to mention cases when parents smoke in the bed, or are under the influence of drugs.

Existing research show that while sharing the bed increases the risk of infant's death 40 times, sharing the room in turn, reduces the risk of SIDS. Therefore it is so important that, within six months of age, your baby sleeps in the same room in his own bed next to yours. It gives the child a sense of security and sufficiently intimate proximity for both of you. You also have the option to breastfeed a child or hold it whenever baby needs it.


6. Pacifiers / Soothers​

Previous studies suggest that the risk of SIDS can be greatly reduced when the child is put to sleep with pacifier. It is not yet clear exactly what causes the fact that the presence of a pacifier contributes to a safer sleep of children. One explanation is the possibility that if a baby has the pacifier in his mouth, he has less need to turn around in sleep. He is simply quieter. A second explanation is that the physiological process of sucking a pacifier keeps the tongue in a fixed position, upright, which allows free passage of air through oral and nasal cavity. On the other hand, sucking reflex, which is triggered by the presence of a pacifier in the baby's mouth may prevent the child from going into a deep sleep stages, which is perhaps necessary for healthy, natural sleep of a child. But it is not the rule and usually the pacifier falls out of baby's mouth when the baby shifts into a deeper stage of sleep.

7. Smoking

For children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy the risk of SIDS is three times higher than for other children. Likewise, exposure of children to passive smoking in the presence of parents or other adults contribute to the same effect. Studies show that the presence of any smoker in the household contributes to the risk of SIDS. The study also pointed to the so-called "third-hand smoke" when a child comes into contact with smoke through the clothes, in the apartment, etc.. For children it is very important to stay in an environment that is totally and completely non-smoking. It protects the baby not only from SIDS, but also from a wide range of respiratory diseases.


8. The temperature for sleep​

Children should always sleep in a warm enough room, but they should never be overheated. Children who overheat more often fall into deep stages of sleep, from which it is sometimes hard to wake up. Keep the room temperature as convenient as possible for a person who is lightly dressed, and don't dress the baby too warm.


9. Self-Care in Pregnancy

Pregnancy also has a very large effect on future baby's health and the degree of risk of SIDS. That'ss why it is so important to go for regular medical checks, keep healthy and regular diet, observe abstinence (alcohol, smoking, drugs) and have regular movement / exercise.


10. Breastfeeding

It is proven that breastfeeding has, among many other positive effects also a great influence on the immune system of a child, supporting it's strength against diseases and infections. Current research prove crucial influence of breastfeeding on the reduction of the risk of SIDS among children within the first 12 months of life. If at all possible, it is recommended that mothers breastfeed their babies for the period of 12 months and exclusively breastfeed for at least the first 6 months of baby's life.