I heard the reason for SIDS is that a baby has a weak immune system. Is there anything to do during pregnancy

Question

that can make a babie's immune system stronger? I also heard the same for colic and reflux....

Answer 1

There are so many theories about SIDS that no one really knows what causes it. My son suffers from a rare genetic disorder known as MCAD that was diagnosed at birth thru Newborn Screening. Some experts believe that undiagnosed, this disorder could have resulted in SIDS.

The best advice that I can give you, is to stay healthy during pregnancy, be sure to have Newborn Screening Tests done, and trust your "mother's intuition" once the baby is here. A lot is to be said for your instincts!

Good luck to you with the new baby!

Answer 2

I heard research that SIDS was linked to a lack of the signals in the brain that tell us when we need to take deeper breaths. There is no hard evidence yet that proves the cause. If you eat a healthy varied diet, take gentle exercises and avoid smoking during pregnancy then your baby should be born healthy and stand a better chance of fighting illness. I dont know that much can be done to prevent colic and reflux. I work on a Neonatal Unit and we have had babies born from mums who have everything right and still had the above ailments or ill babies and visa versa. There has been evidence that stress and anxiety is passed on to the unborn baby though, so try and relax whilst you are pregnant.

Answer 3

I had not heard that it had anything to do with the immune system... but the best way to avoid all three of those is to breastfeed!

Also, that will be the best way to boost the babies immune system.

The only thing that comes to mind for strengthening your immune system and therefore, your babes... is cod liver oil.

Its a great supplement that provides lots of omega 3's, vit a and vit d... also combats depression!

So... just read up all you can on breastfeeding... join a group online somewhere (i can rec a good one on myspace), or the LLL in real life. Take some breastfeeding classes and make sure they don't give the baby a bottle at all when youre in the hospital (if supplementation is required, you can use a cup, syringe, spoon or sns... but its really rare that it would be needed)
Also, latch you baby as soon as possible... their suck reflex is the strongest in the first half hour after birth.

Oh, and don't listen to your doctor on anything when it comes to breastfeeding... most of them are completly ignorant about it! Talk to a lactation consultant... or your local LLL... you will get much better information from them.

Co-sleeping, also reduces the risk of SIDS... when youre safely co-sleeping, of course.

Some links to check out:

Answer 4

SIDS is generally an unexplainable infant death-- often times just a still baby in the crib one day. Most illnesses that would take effect due to the immune system would likely be noticeable with actual symptoms-- fever, runny nose, fussiness, etc, which menas if they passed away it probably wouldn't be called a SIDS death.

As far as what you can do-- eat right, exercise take your vitamins.

Answer 5

I don't think there is much you can do during pregnancy to guarantee a strong immune system. You definately shouldn't take any extra vitamins unless its okay'd by your doc. All you can do is do your best to eat right, take your prenatals and take good care of yourself and baby during pregnancy. I would try and stay away from cigarette smoke as much as possible. (and that is also important after baby is born to decrease the risk of SIDS)

Answer 6

you know there really is not now cause about sids or even what cause sids but they are getting closer and closer to discovering a cause of it i can tell you this though don't smoke around the baby and don't put the baby to sleep on its stomach cause if you do then it does't have the muscle support to move its head and could easlier bury its face in the matteress or even the blanked causing it not to be able to breath. also we have heard that them taking a paciffer is also reduces the risk because by them keeping it in there mouth they have to suck on it and it keeps them allert enough to breath and also the paciffer is big enough that if they do bury there face it won't stay cause the pacifer will move when they are sucking on it

Answer 7

DO NOT SMOKE!!! I think thats a big one, and dont over-wrap your baby, too many blankets is bad as well, and no laying on their stomach (though im not sure about that one, cause thats what they say in all the books, but babys spit up, and what if the baby spits up in the middle of the nite, and is too small to roll over, then they choke? i always lay my babies on their sides)

Answer 8

Having worked with high risk babies for many years makes me think that this may not be true. I suggest you take good care of yourself and take those awful prenatal vitamins. Good luck. The things we worry about most usually never happen.

Answer 9

THERE ACTUALLY IS NO CAUSE TO SIDS. BUT TAKING UR VITAMINS AND LEADING A HEALTHY LIFE DURING PREGNACY COULDNT HURT.

Answer 10

SEVEN STEPS TO REDUCE THE RISK OF SIDS
In light of new research, SIDS should no longer be considered a mysterious cloud that hangs over cribs and causes babies to take their last breath. Armed with a new understanding of SIDS, parents can at least do something to reduce their worry and reduce the risk. SIDS seems to be a combination of many factors: immature development of cardiorespiratory control mechanisms, defective arousability from sleep in response to breathing difficulties, medical conditions that compromise breathing, and unsafe sleeping practices. Therefore, this SIDS risk-reduction program is designed to help these factors:


The seven SIDS risk-lowering steps:

Give your baby a healthy womb environment.
Do not allow smoke around your baby – pre or postnatally.
Put your baby to sleep on his back or side, not on his stomach.
Breastfeed your baby.
Give your baby a safe sleeping environment.
Avoid overheating your baby during sleep.
Practice the "high-touch" style of attachment parenting.
Medical and family circumstances may prevent you from doing all seven of these risk-lowering practices, but do the best you can.

STEP ONE: GIVE YOUR BABY A HEALTHY WOMB ENVIRONMENT
Prematurity and low birthweight constitute two of the highest risk factors for SIDS. The increased risk and the fact that premature infants show more episodes of irregular breathing and stop-breathing (called apnea) is possibly because the respiratory control center in these infants is immature. Although the SIDS risk in premature babies is higher, the good news is that over 99 percent of premature infants don't die of SIDS and that mothers of premature babies who take good prenatal care of themselves and practice the rest of the SIDS prevention tips mentioned in this section can reduce the risk of losing their baby to SIDS. While prematurity is not always preventable, here are three ways you can increase your chances of giving your baby the best prenatal start.

1. GET GOOD PRENATAL CARE
Babies whose mothers get the least prenatal care have the highest risk of preterm birth, and therefore SIDS. Just as well-baby care is important after birth, periodic checkups during pregnancy give your in-the-womb baby the best chance of a healthy start. During prenatal checkups your healthcare provider will monitor your health, counsel you on nutrition and exercise, check the growth and health of your baby, and offer you advice on creating the healthiest womb environment for your baby.

2. FEED YOUR BABY RIGHT BY FEEDING YOURSELF RIGHT
Good nutrition during pregnancy lowers the risk of SIDS in two ways: it lowers the risk of prematurity, and it prevents anemia. With anemia, there are fewer red blood cells to carry oxygen to the baby. Anything that lowers oxygen to the baby increases the risk of SIDS, probably by harming the development of the baby's respiratory control system in the brain. The risk of SIDS is compounded in an anemic mother who also smokes.

3. GROW YOUR BABY IN A SMOKE-FREE, DRUG-FREE WOMB
Taking illegal drugs and smoking while pregnant increase the risk of SIDS in two ways: First, these harmful habits increase the chances of your baby being born prematurely. Second, these pollutants, primarily by decreasing oxygen supply to developing tissues, can harm baby's brain, specifically the respiratory control center that regulates breathing. The risk of SIDS increases eight times in infants of substance-abusing mothers (abbreviated as ISAM) and as much as twenty times in infants of opiate abusing mothers.


BREASTFEEDING REDUCES THE RISK OF SIDS – THE EVIDENCE
New research is confirming what I have long suspected: SIDS is lower in breastfed infants. A study from New Zealand shows that SIDS was three times higher in babies who were not breastfed. The risk factor for SIDS from not breastfeeding was even higher than from maternal smoking. When I visited New Zealand in 1985 to speak on the subject of SIDS, I spoke with Dr. Shirley Tonkin, a prominent SIDS researcher in that country. She shared with me her belief that SIDS does occur less often in breastfeeding infants. Of the eighty- six babies she studied from 1970 to 1972, all of whom had died of SIDS, only three were breastfed; and this occurred in a country with a particularly high incidence of breastfeeding. Even the large collaborative study of nearly eight hundred SIDS infants performed by the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) found that SIDS babies were breastfed significantly less often, and if breastfed were weaned earlier. It is interesting that this study did not separate out partial from total breastfeeding, so that a mother who breastfed in any amount was included as a "yes" in the breastfeeding statistics. Undoubtedly, many of these "yes" mothers were combining breastfeeding with formula feeding. I believe that total breastfeeding provides even greater protection against SIDS.


There is a ton more to read at the link below :D