Fewer than half of US infants always sleep on their backs, the position doctors recommend to avoid sleep-related injuries and deaths, a study suggests.


Researchers examined survey data from a nationally representative sample of US mothers.


More than three in four mothers said they usually placed their infants on their backs to sleep, the survey found.


But just 44 percent of the mothers said they planned to place babies to sleep on their backs and then actually did this every time, researchers reported in Pediatrics, online today.

‘Intention does not always match practice,’ said study author Dr Eve Colson of the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut.


‘While families may intend to place infants on the back to sleep and may eventually do so, they do not always follow these recommendations,’ Dr Colson said.


In 1992, the American Academy of Pediatrics announced that babies should be placed on their backs to sleep, in order to lower their risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).


Despite a dramatic decrease in frequency, SIDS still remains a leading cause of infant mortality.


Nationwide, SIDS kills about four babies out of every 10,000 live births, down from about 130 in 10,000 in 1990, according to the CDC.

Safe Sleep Recommendations Fewer than half of US infants always sleep on their backs, the position doctors recommend to avoid sleep-related injuries and deaths, a study suggests.


Researchers examined survey data from a nationally representative sample of US mothers.


More than three in four mothers said they usually placed their infants on their backs to sleep, the survey found.


But just 44 percent of the mothers said they planned to place babies to sleep on their backs and then actually did this every time, researchers reported in Pediatrics, online today.

‘Intention does not always match practice,’ said study author Dr Eve Colson of the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut.


‘While families may intend to place infants on the back to sleep and may eventually do so, they do not always follow these recommendations,’ Dr Colson said.


In 1992, the American Academy of Pediatrics announced that babies should be placed on their backs to sleep, in order to lower their risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).


Despite a dramatic decrease in frequency, SIDS still remains a leading cause of infant mortality.


Nationwide, SIDS kills about four babies out of every 10,000 live births, down from about 130 in 10,000 in 1990, according to the CDC.