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 Triple Risk Theory

Recent advances in medical research shows us that babies that die of SIDS may not be as healthy as we once thought.  Scientists have uncovered an abnormality in the brainstem of SIDS victims that make them vulnerable to sudden, unexpected death.

While there is still much we do not know about SIDS, a triple-risk model is often used to describe the series of events that takes place when a baby dies of SIDS:

The first element of the model is the critical development period, which is the first six months of life where the baby is growing and developing very rapidly.  This rapid growth can make a baby’s system become unstable.

The second element, the vulnerable infant, represents an infant with this underlying abnormality in an area of their brainstem that controls respiration, heart rate, thermoregulation and other major bodily functions during early life.

The third element involves external stressors (outside or environmental challenges) which a normal baby can easily overcome and survive, but that an already vulnerable baby night not. Stressors such as exposure to second-hand smoke, tummy sleeping or an upper respiratory infection alone do not cause death for healthy infants, but could trigger a sudden, unexpected death in a vulnerable infant.

According to this model, all three elements must come together for SIDS to result.  Unfortunately, at this time, there is no way to identify which babies are at increased risk as a result of this brainstem abnormality.