Has the Cause of SIDS Been Found by a Children’s Hospital Doctor?

The source of many parents fears is a mysterious condition that has taken the lives of many babies, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and one doctor may have found the cause. It's a parents worst nightmare, and one that has unfortunately hit people in my life. As a parent, we have all woken up in the middle of the night to check to make sure our baby is still breathing while they sleep. Approximately 4,000 babies die from SIDS every year in the United States, and one doctor has been focusing on this tragedy for over 11year, and he may have found the cause.

Dr. Daniel Rubens of Seattle Children's Hospital believes he is close to solving the cause of SIDS, and may even be close to coming up with a way to prevent it. Dr. Rubens research has shown that babies who have been the victim of SIDS suffer from inner-ear damage, that unfortunately they can't tell the parents about. To support this, one study that was done in Rhode discovered that 31 babies who dies of SIDS scored poorly on hearing tests.

With the Rhodes research, combined with his own, Rubens has theorized that when babies who can't breath while sleeping have a natural reflex that would cause them to move so they can once again breath. Rubens believes that the babies who tested poorly on hearing tests suffered from inner-ear dysfunction, that prevents them from repositioning themselves when they need air, hence they stop breathing.

More research needs to be done, however we all wish Rubens luck in thwarting this mysterious killer.