Every year in the U.S., about 3,400 babies die suddenly and unexpectedly before their first birthday. Oftentimes, this occurs when baby is asleep or resting in their sleeping area. Although rates have been stagnant and disparities for black and brown babies persist, there are still actions we can all take to protect our beloved infants and toddlers.
Challenges and New Research
Often baby?s caregiver is at home but perhaps not in the same room when these deaths occur. As such, many families now use cameras that monitor their sleeping infants and toddlers.
A small study by researchers at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine used family-permitted videos to document the deaths of seven toddlers. The findings show the deaths to be associated with febrile seizures, and several of the home recordings provided insight based on the sound and/or movement of the seizure as it occurred, including the moments after. One of the investigators, Laura Gould, MSc, MA, PT, lost her daughter to sudden unexplained death in children (SUDC; involving children 12 months and older) in 1997 at 15 months old. This tragedy led her to create the SUDC Registry and Research Collaborative that utilizes expert teams to better understand and learn to prevent these deaths.
SUID Prevention
Until researchers learn more, there are still many ways to help babies sleep safely and reduce the risk of sleep-related infant deaths:

Place baby on their back to sleep, including daytime naps and overnight...