News & Updates

Wale Olukanmi has spent more than two decades as an oncology nurse and physician's assistant at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. As a medical practitioner and father of four, he thought he was well-informed about the health risks and pitfalls of parenting. Then, he completed an all-day training on safe infant sleep practices, where he learned about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), the leading cause of death in babies one month to one year of age, and about other sleep-related infant deaths, such as suffocation.

Many new mothers do not receive advice from physicians on aspects of infant care such as sleep position, breastfeeding, immunization and pacifier use, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

In the U.S., more than 3,500 infants die each year from sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, and from what experts describe as “other sleep-related causes of infant death.” Sparing families this incomprehensible tragedy has been a long-term goal of the National Institutes of Health.

NICHD supports a variety of research projects and networks that are useful to neuroscientists. Find a detailed list here.

The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has launched a Spanish-language website that provides free information on health topics, including maternal and infant care, obesity, HIV/AIDS, fertility/infertility, and pregnancy.

Nearly 55 percent of U.S. infants are placed to sleep with bedding that increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, despite recommendations against the practice, report researchers at the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other institutions.

More than 40 percent of infants in a group who died of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) were found to have an abnormality in a key part of the brain, researchers report. The abnormality affects the hippocampus, a brain area that influences such functions as breathing, heart rate, and body temperature, via its neurological connections to the brainstem. According to the researchers, supported by the National Institutes of Health, the abnormality was present more often in infants who died of SIDS than in infants whose deaths could be attributed to known causes.

NICHD Director Dr. Alan Guttmacher recently published an article in the Huffington Post about the Institute’s efforts to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and promote safe infant sleep. In the article, he highlighted the NICHD’s research activities related to SIDS and the contributions of the NICHD-led Safe to Sleep® campaign, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. He also talked about how SIDS has affected his own family.

While the prevalence of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in the United States has decreased by 50% over the last 20 years, SIDS remains the leading cause of death for U.S. infants 1 month to 1 year of age.1 This SIDS Awareness Month, the NICHD highlights SIDS resources and research to help parents, caregivers, and medical professionals reduce the risk of SIDS.

Shavon Artis, Dr.P.H., M.P.H., coordinator of the NICHD-led Safe to Sleep® campaign, recently published a blog post on safe infant sleep environments for the Parents Magazine website.

Ensuring the health and wellbeing of pregnant women and newborns is central to the NICHD mission. Scientists supported by our Pregnancy and Perinatology Branch (PPB) conduct research related to improving care for pregnant women and newborns, preventing preterm labor and birth and other birth complications, and treating diseases in newborns.

This infographic has important tips to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and other sleep-related causes of infant death.

The October/November NICHD Research Perspectives focuses on the importance of a safe sleep environment to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and other sleep-related causes of infant death.

November marks the 37th annual National Native American Heritage Month to honor AI/AN culture, heritage, and communities. This year’s theme is “Guiding Our Destiny with Heritage and Traditions.”

At the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience , held in San Diego, California, from November 9–13, more than 30,000 neuroscientists from around the world will share their latest research results and learn about new advances and opportunities in the field.

SIDS is defined as the sudden, unexplained death of an infant younger than 1 year old that doesn’t have a known cause even after a complete investigation, including an autopsy, a review of the death scene, and complete family and medical histories. It is currently the leading cause of death in babies between 1 month and 1 year of age.

In 1994, the NICHD, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and other collaborators launched the Back to Sleep campaign to inform parents and caregivers about ways to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), defined as the sudden, unexplained death of an infant younger than 1 year of age.

In this Research Conversation, Drs. Marian Willinger and Eve Colson explain the findings reported in the NIH news release, Roughly 14 percent of infants share bed with adult or child. Sharing a bed, with an adult or another child, increases an infant’s risk of death from sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS or other sleep-related causes.

The percentage of nighttime caregivers who reported that an infant usually shares a bed with a parent, another adult, or a child more than doubled between 1993 and 2010, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.

Reducing infant mortality has been an important part of the NICHD mission since it was founded. Despite decades of research, however, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) remains the leading cause of death among infants between 1 month and 1 year of age in the United States, causing more than 2,000 infant deaths each year.