Fans Linked to Lower Risk of Infant Death

A simple fan could be the key to reducing the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, reports ABC News. Researchers discovered that babies who slept in a room with a fan were 72% less likely to die from SIDS, according to the study published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. Experts speculated that the fan might prevent the baby from "rebreathing" carbon-dioxide, thought to be a major cause of SIDS.

Health experts welcomed the findings, but warned that much research remains to be done. They emphasized that the most important known ways to prevent SIDS include avoiding smoking around an infant and placing babies on their backs for sleep. A campaign urging parents to put infants on their backs has helped cut SIDS deaths by half. But with 2,500 SIDS deaths in the US last year, it remains the leading killer of infants.
(More SIDS stories.)