A new French study, under the direction of Dr Hugh Patural, will seek to increase our understanding of the newborn’s nervous system with a view to preventing crib death, reports Le Progrès.
The pediatric specialist will follow 400 babies over two years, placing sensors in the crib to monitor the baby’s sleeping patterns.
Researchers will monitor each baby’s sleep over a 24-hour period, five times a year, in the hopes of discovering the cause of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, also known as crib death, which affects about 300 children per year in France.
The goal is to develop a standard sleeping profile that could help pinpoint infants who do not fit the profile, and are therefore at risk of crib death.
To help prevent crib death, which peaks at age two to four months, experts recommend placing an infant on its back to sleep, removing any excess bedding, toys, crib bumpers which could fall on or cover the infant’s face while asleep. A 2003 study also found that breastfeeding cut the risk of SIDS in half.