THE LATEST IN RESEARCH
Infant Deaths in Sitting Devices
Pediatrics, May 2019
"Conclusions: There are higher odds of sleep-related infant death in sitting devices when a child care provider or baby-sitter is the primary supervisor. Using car safety seats for sleep in nontraveling contexts may pose a risk to the infant."
A Hospital-Based Initiative to Reduce Postdischarge Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths
AAP News, July 2018
"Conclusion: A comprehensive sleep safety culture change can be effectively integrated into a nursery setting over time by using feedback from Child Fatality Review and performance improvement methodology. Repeated messaging and education by the entire nursery staff has the potential to play a role in reducing sleep-related deaths in infants born at the hospital."
Protecting Infants From Sleep-Related Deaths - A Wake-up Call
JAMA Pediatrics - published online June 18, 2018
Why has no substantial progress been made in preventing sleep-related infant deaths? Approximately 3,700 infants (≤ 1 year) have died each year in the past 15 years, most of whom died before age 6 months. No recent breakthrough has occurred for this public health issue, which kills a surprisingly large number of society’s most vulnerable—typically healthy infants. After the 1992 American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation regarding sleep position and the National Institutes of Health–led Back to Sleep campaign, infant deaths significantly declined; however, since the late 1990s, the decline in sleep-related infant deaths has plateaued.
Despite Educational Campaigns, US Infants Are Still Dying Due to Unsafe Sleep Conditions
JAMA, June 6, 2018
It’s been nearly a quarter of a century since the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) launched the “Back to Sleep” campaign and more than a decade since the NICHD renamed the campaign “Safe to Sleep” to educate physicians and caregivers about safe sleep environments as well as the safe sleep position.
And yet, approximately 3,500 sleep-related infant deaths still occur each year in the United States, a number that has remained fairly steady since initial declines in the 1990s.
