Washington (OTL) - According to a new study, a fan in the bedroom can cut the risk of SIDS by over 70%.
Babies who sleep with a fan in their rooms have a reduced risk of sudden infant death syndrome (Sids), according to a new US study.
Leaving a window open in a poorly-ventilated room could also prevent unexplained deaths classified as SIDS, particularly in warmer temperatures.
In 1992, the rate of SIDS was at 1.2 per 1,000 births, compared to 0.53 births per 1,000 births in 2003.
The study showed that using the fan brought down SIDS risk by a whopping 72 percent – there were only three deaths reported of babies who had a fan on in their rooms. Other researchers said while the use of the fan is probably a factor in reducing SIDS deaths, more research would have to be done in this area.
The study was led by Dr. De-Kun Li of Kaiser Permanent in Oakland, California.
The study consisted of information from mothers of 185 infants who died of SIDS with 312 randomly selected age-matched infants.
The researchers noted that while SIDS deaths declined more than 50 percent since a national publicity campaign encouraged placing infants on their backs to sleep, one-quarter of child-care providers still don’t do it. Young, black and less-educated women are more likely to ignore the advice, the researchers say, yet fans are just as common in their homes.