Too many babies in the US still sleep in positions that increase the risk of SIDS

THURSDAY, Dec. 12, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Despite decades of campaigns highlighting the “baby on his back” recommendation for safe infant sleep, 12 percent of 4-month-old babies in the United States are still sleeping on their backs. sides or belly, shows a new report.

That number rises to 19% among 9-month-old infants and 23% among 1-year-olds.

Putting a child to bed in a “non-supine” position increases the risk of breathing difficulties and even sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), said a team led by Dr. Yongjun Zhangfrom Xinhua Hospital in Shanghai.

The research was published Dec. 12 in the journal Open JAMA Network.

According to the recommendations of American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), parents should “place babies on their backs to sleep in their own sleep space without other people.”

Cribs and playpens should be, too no blankets, pillows and stuffed toys to avoid suffocation and have only a “firm, flat mattress and a bed sheet,” the AAP says.

All of these help lower the chances of SIDS.

However, as the study authors pointed out, “approximately 3,500 sleep-related deaths among infants are reported annually in the US,” with 90 percent of these tragedies occurring among babies younger than 6 months of age.

Placing babies on their backs while sleeping is key to keeping the airway open and reducing the risk of SIDS.

Have efforts to educate parents about this simple step worked?

To find out, Zhang’s group analyzed data from 2016 to 2022 from the US National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH).

In the survey, parents of nearly 9,400 infants were asked “What position do you most often put this baby to sleep now?” Parents could answer “on the side”, “on the back” or “on the stomach”.

For infants aged 4, 6, 9, and 12 months, an average of 12%, 12.9%, 19.2%, and 23% of parents answered either “on one side” or “on the stomach”—two positions known to increase the risk of SIDS.

These percentages did not change much over the seven years covered by the study, suggesting that the success of getting the “baby on your back” message to new parents has stagnated.

Outreach to specific groups also seems warranted, the study authors noted.

For example, among parents of 4-month-old infants, rates of infant supine sleep in 2022 were much higher among black or Hispanic infants (23.2% and 21.6%, respectively) than white infants (7.1%), the report says.

Income also mattered: Nearly a quarter (24.5%) of 4-month-olds born to families in the lowest income bracket were put to sleep in non-recumbent positions, Zhang’s team found, compared with just 6.7 % of infants in the most affluent. houses.

Similar trends were found for parental education, with significantly higher non-supine infant sleep rates among parents with less college education.

Finally, the younger the mother, the more likely a baby was to sleep on its side or stomach. In 2022, this happened for 15.5 percent of 6-month-old babies born to mothers under 30, compared with 11.9 percent of babies born to women over 30, the study found.

All these figures mean that efforts need to be redoubled to reach parents who have not received the life-saving ‘baby on your back’ message.

“Evidence-based interventions that promote safe sleep practices, particularly among younger age groups where SIDS is more prevalent, could help reduce sleep-related infant mortality (death),” concluded Zhang and colleagues.

More information

Get details about AAPs sleep recommendations for infants.

SOURCE: Open JAMA NetworkDecember 12, 2024