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Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is a syndrome marked by the symptoms of sudden and unexplained death of an apparently healthy infant aged one month to one year. The term cot death is often used in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, while crib death is used in North America

SIDS is a diagnosis of exclusion. It should only be applied to an infant whose death is sudden and unexpected, and remains unexplained after the performance of an adequate postmortem investigation including

1. an autopsy;
2. investigation of the scene and circumstances of the death; and
3. exploration of the medical history of the infant and family.

Typically the infant is found dead after having been put to sleep, and exhibits no signs of having suffered.

Conditions that may be undiagnosed and thus result in a diagnosis of SIDS

• Medium chain acyl CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (MCAD deficiency)
• Infant botulism
• Long QT syndrome
• Shaken baby syndrome

According to a study published in October 2006 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, babies who die of SIDS have abnormalities in the part of the brain that helps control functions like breathing, blood pressure and arousal. Researchers examined the brains of 31 babies who had died of SIDS and 10 who had died from other causes. They found that abnormalities in the brain stem appear to affect the ability to use and recycle serotonin, which is responsible for regulating mood as well as vital body functions. According to the National Institutes of Health, which funded the study, the new finding is the strongest evidence to date suggesting that innate differences in a specific part of the brain may place some at increased risk of dying from SIDS

Parenting is the process of raising and educating a child from birth until adulthood.

It has recently become a very popular topic due to the necessity of clarifying the process of upbringing a child at home by parents as the opposite to the formal education of a child at school. A teacher-student relationship is different from the parent-child relationship. Therefore a parent’s methods of educating a child must be different from a teacher’s. At school teachers give a child general literacy and scientific knowledge; at home parents give a child general wisdom of life as parents themselves understand it.

The term “parenting” is a derivative of the word “parent” taken as a verb. When people say “to parent” a child it means “to be a parent,” or “to fulfill parental duties.” Since everyone who has a child has to parent he or she has their own view on what their parental duties are. Generally, the majority of parents admit that those duties are to provide for the basic needs of a child - the child’s need for security and development. This implies security and development of a child’s body, mind and psyche. In other words, it is physical, intellectual, and emotional security and development.

Parenting is usually done in a child’s family by the mother and/or father (i.e., the biological parents). When parents are unable or unwilling to provide this care, it is usually undertaken by close relatives, such as older siblings, aunts and uncles, or grandparents. In other cases, children may be cared for by adoptive parents, foster parents, godparents, or in institutions (such as group homes or orphanages). There are also circumstances, such as on a kibbutz, where parenting is an occupation even when biological parents exist. Parens patriae refers to the public policy power of the state to usurp the rights of the natural parent, legal guardian or informal caregiver, and to act as the parent of any child or individual who is in need of protection (i.e. if the child’s caregiver is exceedingly violent or dangerous).

Maternity is the social and legal acknowledgment of the parental relationship between a mother and her child..

The maternal bond is typically the relationship between a mother and her child. While it typically occurs due to pregnancy and childbirth, it may also occur between a woman and an unrelated child, such as in adoption. There are hundreds of factors, physical and emotional, which influence the mother–infant bonding process. Many new mothers do not always experience the “instantly-in-mother-love” emotions. Bonding is a gradually unfolding experience that can take hours, days, weeks or months to evolve

Immunization, or immunisation, is the process by which an individual is exposed to an agent that is designed to fortify his or her immune system against that agent. The material is known as an immunogen. Immunization is the same as inoculation and vaccination in that inoculation and vaccination use a viable infecting agent like immunization does. When the human immune system is exposed to a disease once, it can develop the ability to quickly respond to a subsequent infection. Therefore, by exposing an individual to an immunogen in a controlled way, their body will then be able to protect itself from infection later on in life.

Passive immunization is where pre-made antibodies are given to a person. This method of Immunization begins to work very quickly, but it is short lasting, because the antibodies are naturally broken down, and not stored for later use. It can also result in serum sickness and anaphylaxis.

Passive immunization can be naturally acquired when antibodies are being transferred from mother to fetus during pregnancy, to help protect the fetus before and shortly after birth.

Artificial passive immunization is normally given by injection and is used if there has been a recent outbreak of a particular disease or as an emergency treatment to poisons from insects etc. The antibodies are normally produced in animals and injected into humans.

Active immunization is where the actual microbe is taken in by a person. Antibodies are created by the recipient and are stored permanently.

Active immunization can occur naturally when an untreated microbe is received by a person who has not yet come into contact with the microbe and has no pre-made antibodies for defence. The immune system will eventually create antibodies for the microbe, but this is a slow process and, if the microbe is deadly, there may not be enough time for the antibodies to begin being used.

Artificial active immunization is where the microbe is injected into the person before they are able to take it in naturally. The microbe is treated, so that it will not harm the injected person. Depending on the type of disease, this technique also works with dead microbes, parts of the microbe, or treated toxins from the microbe

Day care or child care is care of a child during the day by a person other than the child’s parents or legal guardians, typically someone outside the child’s immediate family. The service is known as child care in the United Kingdom and Australia and day care in North America. Child care or day care is provided in nurseries or creches or by childminders caring for children in their own homes.Babysitting is the occasional temporary care of a child during the absence of his or her parents. Child care or day care is ongoing care during specific periods, such as the parents’ time at work. Child care can also take on a more formal structure, with education, child development, discipline and even preschool falling into the fold of services.

Some childminders care for children from several families at the same time, either in their own home or in a specialized child care facility. Some employers provide nursery provision for their employees at or near the place of employment.

Child care in the child’s own home is traditionally provided by a nanny or au pair

With few exceptions, human breast milk is the best source of nourishment for human infants. However, experts disagree about how long to breastfeed to gain the greatest benefit, and how much more risk is involved in using artificial formulas
A mother may breastfeed her infant, or another infant, e.g., as a wet nurse. While there are conflicting studies about the relative value of artificial feeding, including infant formula, it is acknowledged to be inferior to breastfeeding for both full term and premature infants. In many countries, including the First World, artificial feeding is associated with more deaths from diarrhoea in infants
National governments and international organizations promote breastfeeding as the best method of feeding infants in their first two years and beyond. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) also promote breastfeeding. Regulating authorities recognize the superiority of breastfeeding but also try to make artificial feeding safer.