Cases of SIDS — Sudden Infant Death Syndrome — Spike by 12%: 'Unbelievably Horrific'

• Rates of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome rose 12% between 2020 and 2022, even though overall mortality rates have decreased, according to a new study

• The statistics are "pretty alarming," the study author said, citing social media depictions of unsafe sleeping spaces as a potential cause for the rise in cases

• SIDS rates are higher for Black, Native American and Pacific Islander babies than for White and Asian infants

The rates of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome — known as SIDS — are rising in the United States, even as overall infant mortality is down.

Cases of SIDS rose 12% between 2020 and 2022, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, via The New York Times.

SIDS is generally defined as unexplained death of an otherwise healthy infant during the first year of life, according to the Mayo Cllnic. It’s also known as “crib death”, as the deaths generally occur while the children are sleeping.

The study’s results are “pretty alarming,” study author Dr. Elizabeth Wolf, an associate professor of pediatrics with Children’s Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University, told the NYT.

Related: Grieving Mom Whose 3-Month-Old Baby Died in His Sleep Shares What Could Have Prevented His Death: 'I Carry Guilt'

“The death of an infant from SIDS or SUID [Sudden Unexpected Infant Death] is unbelievably horrific. And we as a public health community need to do everything we can to try and reduce the risk factors as much as possible,” Wolf said.

The study notes that overall infant mortality is down by 24% — which leaves experts to wonder what’s behind the drastic spike in SIDS.

Given the time period of the increase — the peak of the Covid pandemic — the respiratory disease was seen as one potential cause for the rise in SIDS.  Dr. Michael Goodstein, director of newborn services for WellSpan Health and a member of an American Academy of Pediatrics task force on SUID told the NYT, “It’s my prayer that this is just a blip that’s really tightly tied to the pandemic, and that it’ll come back down.”

Wolf also pointed to social media as a potential factor: “In social media posts, infants can be seen in unsafe sleep positions, for example on their stomach instead of on their back, and in unsafe sleep environments such as adult beds, couches and baby swings,” Wolf said in a statement.

Related: Washington Mom Speaks Out After 7-Month-old Son's Tragic Baby Blanket Death: 'I Have a Lot of Guilt'

A 2021 analysis of images on Instagram showed that less than 8% were consistent with American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines for safe sleeping environments for infants. These guidelines mandate that infants sleep on their back on a firm, flat mattress in their own space (no co-sleeping), without any blankets, pillows, stuffed animals and other soft items.

The study also said that SIDS rates remain higher for Black, Native American and Pacific Islander babies than for White and Asian infants; specifically, the risk of SIDS for Black infants is 10 times higher than that for Asian infants, and three times higher than White infants.

One factor behind the figures, the Office of Minority Health says, is that Native American mothers were “almost three times more likely to receive late or no prenatal care than non-Hispanic white mothers." For Black Americans, OMH cited low birthweight and maternal complications of pregnancy as extenuating circumstances. And the latest OMH data for native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander mothers showed they were “4.6 times more likely to receive late or no prenatal care as compared to non-Hispanic white mothers.”

“An infant dying from SUID is a horrific tragedy and causes incomprehensible trauma to the family,” Wolf said in the statement. She pointed towards parental assistance — like expanded healthcare, parental leave, breastfeeding support and more — that could help lower the numbers.

“Although not all SUID is preventable, there are some ways to reduce an infant’s risk.”

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