this might be a dumb question but...

SIDS stands for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. The reason it is scary is because no on really knows why it happens. Babies just stop breathing and/or die randomly. There are a number of things that experts recommend parents do to lower the risk of SIDS such as, lay the baby on his/her back, have a ceiling fan going, let them go to sleep with a pacifier, etc. SIDS is basically the reason given when they can't explain an infant death by another cause. I haven't seen anywhere at what age babies are not considered at risk any more so on that point, I am unclear.

It's sudden infant death syndrome. Babies just stop breathing in their sleep. There is no known cause/reason for it happening. It is thought that laying babies on their backs, and giving pacifiers, are both ways to reduce the chance of SIDS. The risk goes way down after the first 6 months, but babies over the age of 1 can also die of SIDS.

Smoking around a small baby increases the chances of SIDS. They have changed from having babies sleep on their stomachs to backs in the past few years. There is nothing you can do that will 100% prevent SIDS.

This is from "What To Expect The First Year" SIDs or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, is the sudden and unexpected death of an apparently healthy infant that is unexplained by the baby's medical history, an autopsy, or the examination of the scene of death. SIDs occures in 1 in 1,500 babies and between ages 2 weeks and 12 months.
How to reduce the rick of SIDs
*Put baby to sleep on his or her back.
*Use a firm mattress and tightly fitting sheets for baby's crib. Remove all loose bedding, pillows, fluggy quilts, and soft toys from the crib. If you use a blanket, make sure it's a thin one, tuck it in around the mattress, and make sure it reaches only baby's chest level.
*Never allow your baby to overheat. Don't dress baby too warmly - no hats, extra clothing, or blankets for bed, don't keep babies room to warm. Overheating can lead to apnea, which can lead to SIDs.
* Don't allow anyone to smoke in your home or around your baby

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. It's not just a baby stopping breathing it is a baby suddenly DYING for no known reason. The number of SIDS deaths has dropped over the last decade or so because more parents have been able to allow autopsies to be performed. If there's no autopsy and no apparent cause of death, it's automatically listed as SIDS.

No one knows the cause, experts list what they think MIGHT help reduce the cause. If sleeping on the belly caused it...the vast majority of us would have died in infancy since we all slept on our bellies. Sleeping on the back increases the chance that a baby will choke on their own spit up....happened to my oldest twice before I wised up and put him on his belly.

Apnea does not lead to SIDS. Apnea leads to what amounts to suffocation....oxygen deprivation. That is NOT SIDS.

Contrary to popular belief, a baby can not be brought back from SIDS. It is sudden DEATH.

A baby is designed to have it's bodily systems regulated by close contact with the mother. Co-sleeping provides frequent stimulation to the baby through breastfeeding and her breathing helps to regulate the baby.

Vaccination is also suspected by many to be a factor.