Prone sleeping position and sudden infant death

Article Abstract:

Infants who sleep on their stomach in the prone position may have a higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). SIDS is the unexpected death of a seemingly healthy infant. A research study found that four different factors may influence the risk of SIDS in a prone sleeping position. These include sleeping on a natural-fiber mattress, swaddling, a high room temperature or a recent illness. This study has certain limitations that may restrict its usefulness, but it does introduce physiological phenomena that might cause SIDS. One of these phenomena is overheating. This study may also explain the increased incidence of SIDS in Tasmania and New Zealand, since soft mattresses and sheepskins are often used as infant beds in these places. Many infants do not die of SIDS despite multiple risk factors, but others with no risk factors die of this disorder. The inability of some infants to to resuscitate themselves by arousal or gasping may be an important factor in understanding SIDS.

Editorial

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The contribution of changes in the prevalence of prone sleeping position to the decline in sudden infant death syndrome in Tasmania

Article Abstract:

Reducing the proportion of infants who sleep in a prone position may reduce the incidence of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The prone position is lying on the abdomen. Researchers in Tasmania, Australia compared the SIDS rate before and after a 1991 health education campaign advising parents to avoid placing their infants in a prone position for sleep. From 1975 through 1990, the rate was 3.8 SIDS deaths per 1,000 live births. In 1991 and 1992 the rates were 1.6 and 1.4 deaths per 1,000 live births, respectively. The researchers also compared the association of SIDS with sleep position and with other factors (parent and infant characteristics and environmental conditions) in a group of 5,534 infants considered at high risk of SIDS. In this group, there was also a decline in SIDS after mid-1991, corresponding to a decline in the number of infants who slept prone. No other factor studied was significantly associated with the reduction in the SIDS rate.

Prevention

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Factors potentiating the risk of sudden infant death syndrome associated with the prone position

Article Abstract:

Four factors may increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) when babies sleep in the prone (face down) position. A study compared 58 infants who died of SIDS to 120 healthy infants (the control group) in Tasmania. Infants who died of SIDS were more likely to have slept in the prone position than those in the control group. The risk of SIDS in the prone position was higher among infants who slept on a natural-fiber mattress, in a heated room or swaddled in blankets. Infants who had a recent illness also had a higher risk of SIDS in the prone position. Another study compared 22 infants who died of SIDS to 213 healthy infants in Tasmania. Sleeping on a natural-fiber mattress was associated with a higher risk of SIDS among infants who slept on their stomachs.

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