Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Jan 12;67(1):39-46.
doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6701e1.

Vital Signs: Trends and Disparities in Infant Safe Sleep Practices - United States, 2009-2015

Vital Signs: Trends and Disparities in Infant Safe Sleep Practices - United States, 2009-2015

Jennifer M Bombard et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. .

Abstract

There have been dramatic improvements in reducing infant sleep-related deaths since the 1990s, when recommendations were introduced to place infants on their backs for sleep. However, there are still approximately 3,500 sleep-related deaths among infants each year in the United States, including those from sudden infant death syndrome, accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed, and unknown causes. Unsafe sleep practices, including placing infants in a nonsupine (on side or on stomach) sleep position, bed sharing, and using soft bedding in the sleep environment (e.g., blankets, pillows, and soft objects) are modifiable risk factors for sleep-related infant deaths.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No conflicts of interest were reported.

Figures

FIGURE
FIGURE
Trends in prevalence of nonsupine (on side or stomach) sleep positioning of infants, by mother’s race/ethnicity — 15 states, Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, 2009–2015 * Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.

References

    1. Matthews TJ, MacDorman MF, Thoma ME. Infant mortality statistics from the 2013 period linked birth/infant death data set. Natl Vital Stat Rep 2015;64:1–30. - PubMed
    1. Parks SE, Erck Lambert AB, Shapiro-Mendoza CK. Racial and ethnic trends in sudden unexpected infant deaths: United States 1995–2013. Pediatrics 2017;139:e20163844. 10.1542/peds.2016-3844 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Shapiro-Mendoza CK, Tomashek KM, Anderson RN, Wingo J. Recent national trends in sudden, unexpected infant deaths: more evidence supporting a change in classification or reporting. Am J Epidemiol 2006;163:762–9. 10.1093/aje/kwj117 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Moon RY; Task Force on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. SIDS and other sleep-related infant deaths: evidence base for 2016 updated recommendations for a safe infant sleeping environment. Pediatrics 2016;138:e20162940. 10.1542/peds.2016-2940 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Colson ER, Rybin D, Smith LA, Colton T, Lister G, Corwin MJ. Trends and factors associated with infant sleeping position: the National Infant Sleep Position Study, 1993-2007. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2009;163:1122–8. 10.1001/archpediatrics.2009.234 - DOI - PMC - PubMed