SIDS and Infant Weight

2/12/97

There is an inverse relationship between birth weight and risk for SIDS. That is, the lower the birth weight, the higher the risk for SIDS. For babies less than about 3.5 pounds at birth, the risk is about 4 times greater than if the birth weight is more than 5.5 pounds. There is no medical reason clearly identified for this relationship.

Weight gain after birth is within the normal range for SIDS infants; as a group, SIDS babies are neither smaller or larger than non-SIDS infants of the same age, race, etc.. However, when one compares the weight gained since birth in individual SIDS and matched comparison infants, weight gain in the SIDS infants is clearly less. As mentioned before, however, this difference is too small to be of any use at all for early detectiion of infants at risk.

I hope this is helpful.

Dr. Carl Hunt
Washington, DC/Toledo

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