Bacteria Linked to SIDS Deaths, Study Finds

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If you’re a parent, you know what I’m talking about. There are plenty of worries during a baby’s first year, and one of the biggest fears I had as a new parent was of SIDS. In fact, I was afraid to cover my daughter with more than the lightest blanket her entire first year. Many moms I’ve spoken to kept track, at least on a subconscious level, of the months going by and breathed a sigh of relief when the baby turned a year old (the age at which SIDS risk is considered to be quite low).

It’s every new parent’s worst nightmare: the sudden death of their newborn with no apparent cause. More than 2,000 babies in the United States die of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), which is a category for infant deaths that have seemingly no physical explanation.

Many studies have been conducted over the years about this baffling phenomenon, when infants who are apparently perfectly healthy die in their sleep. While some have found that certain practices seem to reduce the number of SIDS deaths, such as laying infants on their backs to sleep and not exposing babies to cigarette smoke, no conclusive evidence has ever been found as to what causes SIDS.

A new study released this week is no exception, but it does shed light on a correlation between bacterial infections and babies who died of SIDS.

British researchers, whose report is published in this week’s Lancet, studied the autopsy results of 470 babies who died of SIDS between 1996 and 2005. They found high levels of hazardous bacteria like Staphylococcus and E. coli in over half the babies.

While they concluded that there appears to be a link between the bacteria levels and SIDS deaths, they would not conclude that it was a causal relationship. Dr. Nigel Klein, co-author of the study and a professor at the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, told reporters, "We don't know whether it's a cause or if it's identifying another potential risk factor."

Dr. Klein said that the levels of bacteria could also be associated with other hypothetical contributing factors to SIDS, such as a too-hot bedroom, or poor air quality.

One theory as to why SIDS deaths seem to peak at 2-4 months of age is that maternal antibodies, transferred from the mother to infant at birth, have been eliminated from the infant’s body by this time, and a baby’s developing immune system may not have created enough antibodies of its own. This leaves the infant more susceptible to infections.

Another researcher not associated with the study pointed out that the bacterial infections may have weakened the infants’ systems and when combined with other risk factors such as stomach sleeping or exposure to second-hand smoke, contributed to their SIDS.

"The bacteria in combination with other co-factors might push these babies over the edge," said Marian Willinger, a SIDS specialist at the United States-based National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

The study is considered an important development in the search for SIDS causes. Said Willinger to reporters, "This may be another piece to the puzzle."