Poll Results: Baby Sleep Positions

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 21:31:23 +0000

According to the Chicago Tribune, before the “Back to Sleep” campaign began in 1994, only 14% of babies in the United States were placed on their backs to sleep. After the campaign started, the number skyrocketed to 73%. While the recommendation remains for babies to sleep on their backs, there are signs that more and more parents are choosing to place their babies to sleep on their sides or tummies. A 2005 article from the Detroit News reported that in a Babycenter.com poll of 24,000 respondents, a nearly equal number of parents (42%) put their babies down to sleep on their stomachs as on their backs (43%) in spite of the worry about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

In our own Breastfeeding 1-2-3 survey of 116 respondents, 60% of parents put their babies to sleep on their backs, while the other 40% rest their babies on the side or tummy.

Please take a moment to vote in the new poll in the side bar!

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Back to Sleep Campaign: A Poll

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:30:12 +0000

Breastfeeding your baby is one key way to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), also called crib death or cot death. In fact, a 2008 meta-analysis of 27 studies showed that babies who were breastfed, even partially breastfed, were one-third less likely to die of SIDS than babies who were never breastfed.

Back to Sleep

Over 13 years ago the American Academy of Pediatrics issued its first policy statement on reducing the risk of SIDS and recommended that all healthy babies be placed to sleep on their backs. Soon thereafter the “Back to Sleep Campaign” began. In the time since, the SIDS rate has fallen over 50 percent.

The following poll lets you vote anonymously so we can get an idea of whether parents are following the recommendation to put their babies “back to sleep.” A few thoughts: (1) answer for your latest baby (for example, if you placed your first child on her tummy to sleep, but placed your latest newborn on his back, answer “back”); (2) answer for when your baby was a newborn (for purposes of this poll, define that as 0-6 months) and if at any time during that first six months you switched to placing on baby’s “side” or “tummy” then answer “side” or “tummy” respectively; (3) answer for how you placed your baby (so, answer “back” if you put your baby down on his back, even if he rolled onto his tummy). Feel free to leave a comment to explain your vote.

{democracy:49}

Use of a Fan

There are lots of other things that can reduce the risk of SIDS, but I want to highlight one relatively new discovery. A recent study published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine showed that use of a fan to ventilate the room where baby sleeps can reduce the risk of SIDS by 72%! The risk reduction associated with fan use was greater for infants placed in the prone (face-down, tummy position) or side position versus the supine (back) position (which I take to mean, it’s still a good idea to place your baby on his back, but if you are going to place him on his side or tummy, it’s even more helpful to use a fan).

Comments

How do you place your baby to sleep? What do you do to reduce your baby’s risk of SIDS?

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Breastfeeding 1-2-3 » crib death

Poll Results: Baby Sleep Positions

Back to Sleep Campaign: A Poll