Final answer:
Infant sleep patterns undergo significant changes in the first year of life. Risk factors for SIDS include sleeping position, secondhand smoke exposure, prematurity, and low birth weight. Avoiding cosleeping and creating a safe sleep environment can help reduce the risk of SIDS.
Step-by-step explanation:
Sleep patterns in infants undergo significant changes throughout the first year of life. Newborns sleep for shorter periods of time, often waking up every few hours to feed. By the age of 3-4 months, infants start to develop a more regular sleep-wake cycle and sleep for longer stretches at night. At around 6 months, many infants begin to sleep through the night. By the end of the first year, infants typically have two naps during the day and sleep for 10-12 hours at night.
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is a major concern for parents. Research has identified several risk factors for SIDS, including placing the infant on their stomach to sleep, exposing them to secondhand smoke, premature birth, and low birth weight. It is recommended to place infants on their backs to sleep, avoid exposure to smoke, and create a safe sleep environment by removing pillows, blankets, and other suffocation hazards from the crib. Additionally, it is important to avoid cosleeping with infants, as research has shown an increased risk of SIDS in such situations.