Breastfeeding 1-2-3 » SIDS

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!

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

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?

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Poll: Where Does Your Breastfed Baby Sleep?

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:42:14 +0000

In light of the recent debates over the safety of co-sleeping versus baby sleeping in a crib, and the issue of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, I thought it would be interesting to survey where our nurslings are sleeping. I limited the poll to nurslings because I think it affects several things — safety, parenting style, and just plain convenience of the sleep location! Please answer for where your baby usually (more than 50% of the night) sleeps or slept when he was under 12 months of age. Feel free to leave a comment to explain your situation. I know my family has played musical beds before, and this is not the easiest question to answer!

{democracy:43}

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

SIDS, Breastfeeding and Co-Sleeping

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 09:00:26 +0000

Last Friday’s post featured an excerpt from the 18th century “Prayer to Be Said When She Nurses for the First Time.” It’s a beautiful prayer and it speaks eloquently to the hopes and fears of every new mother. There is an additional portion of the prayer that reads:

Spare me the horror of accidentally smothering my child while I sleep. God forbid.

Certainly every mother, whether breastfeeding or co-sleeping or not, worries about her child during the night (and may even repeatedly check to make sure the baby is still breathing). Times have changed since that prayer was written though. Now we know about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), defined essentially as the sudden death of a baby younger than one year old without a known cause. Back then, if a child mysteriously died in the night, a mother mistakenly might have believed she smothered her child.

Furthermore, the risk of SIDS has declined dramatically over the years. The latest Center for Disease Control figures put the annual incidence of SIDS in the United States at slightly over 1 in every 2,000 live births. (Translation: take reasonable precautions but do not let worry over SIDS interfere with enjoying your new baby!)

Nowadays, tragic stories about babies being smothered generally involve mothers who were intoxicated and who shouldn’t have been co-sleeping. Breastfeeding and co-sleeping mothers are particularly sensitive to their children, and co-sleeping can be done safely if a few guidelines are followed.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that an infant be placed to sleep in a crib or bassinet in the parents’ room. Dr. William Sears argues that an infant sleeping in the parents’ bed is far safer than in a crib, and that both co-sleeping and breastfeeding reduce the risk of SIDS.

Personally, I used an Arm’s Reach Co-Sleeper next to my bed when my baby was little. Once she grew a bit older, and also harder to lift in and out of the co-sleeper, I brought her into my bed but left the co-sleeper in place for diaper changes and for extra protection against the baby falling out of bed (I had a bad experience with bed rails and do not recommend them unless you are absolutely positive they are the proper ones for your mattress size/height and they are installed safely).

Clearly further research needs to be done about SIDS and about the safety of co-sleeping. In the meantime, it can’t hurt to offer up an extra prayer for the safety of our little ones in the night.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3