Fan use appears to be associated with a lower risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in rooms with inadequate ventilation, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
The national incidence of SIDS decreased 56 percent from 1992 to 2003, according to background information in the article. This decline is largely attributed to the increased use of the supine sleep position (lying on the back with head facing up) after the introduction of the "Back to Sleep" campaign in 1994. In more recent years, the decrease in SIDS has leveled off. "Although caretakers should continue to be encouraged

CHICAGO (Reuters) - While letting infants sleep on their backs has cut the danger of sudden infant death syndrome, measures as simple as using a fan or opening a window could further reduce it, according to a study published on Monday.
Infants who slept in a bedroom with a fan had a 72 percent lower risk of SIDS, also known as crib death or cot death, compared to babies sleeping in rooms without a fan, Kimberly Coleman-Phox and colleagues at Kaiser Permanente's Division of Research in Oakland, California found.
ating, and not smoking while pregnant or around babies.

By JENNIFER CORBETT DOOREN WASHINGTON - Using a fan while a baby is sleeping appears to significantly cut the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS, according to new research published Monday.
Researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif., compared 185 babies who died from SIDS in 11 California counties between 1997 to 2000 with 312 normal infants from similar socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds who lives in the same counties. Mothers were asked several questions about fan use, pacifier use, room location, sleep surface, the type of covers over the baby, bedding under the infant, room temperature and whether a window was open.
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