A new study released this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association links low serotonin levels with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and helps explain why co-sleeping and other Attachment Parenting practices are linked with lower SIDS rates.
The study, which analyzed the serotonin levels of 35 infants who died of SIDS, compared chemicals in their brainstems with those found in seven babies who died unexpectedly of known causes and five infants who died from other chronic problems related to a lack of oxygen.
Serotonin levels were 26% lower in the tissue of babies who died from SIDS.
Serotonin is a brain chemical that helps the brainstem regulate breathing, heart rate, temperature, sleeping, waking and other automatic functions. Serotonin normally helps babies respond to high carbon-dioxide levels during sleep by helping them wake up and shift their heads to get fresh air. Babies with low seratonin levels may not get this critical message.
The Back to Sleep campaign, begun in 1994, has helped to cut SIDS deaths in half. Another practice linked to lower SIDS rates is co-sleeping, which has also been shown to cut SIDS rates in half for infants between three and six months of age.
One reason for the link between co-sleeping and lower SIDS rates could be because it supports practices that raise serotonin levels in babies, such as skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding on demand.
Other Attachment Parenting practices have likewise been linked to lower SIDS rates and higher serotonin levels. A New Zealand study found that babies who were not breastfed were three times more likely to die of SIDS, while other studies have said the rate of SIDS for non-breastfed babies doubles. Touch is another way to naturally raise babies' serotonin levels, which is especially supported through AP practices such as breastfeeding, wearing babies in slings and co-sleeping.
It's important to remember that so far we know of no ways to completely eliminate the risk of SIDS but it's encouraging that we have more and more ways to reduce risks. For more about how to reduce SIDS risks, see ask Dr. Sears.
For more about Attachment Parenting, see Mankato based Child Fun's Attachment Parenting page.
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