What research is happening?
Medical researchers are working to discover the cause of SIDS so that it can be eliminated. They are also trying to identify which babies are at special risk, so that customized preventive approaches can be applied. Specific areas of study include the investigation of the many factors that control such basic functions as heart rate, breathing, temperature control, and other automatic functions. Other research examines how best to help grief-stricken families adjust to such a tragedy. One key task of current research involves examining the normal development of healthy infants so that we can better understand how SIDS babies differ. Many SIDS investigators feel that these infants are born with some problem or defect that makes them more vulnerable to situations encountered in daily life. SIDS, however, probably has more than one overriding, single explanation. Today, we hold many pieces of the puzzle. But we must piece together the total picture if we are to understand, and eventually p
