Safe Sleep for Infants

Presented on Tuesday, October 23, 2018.

The October session of Grand Rounds “Safe Sleep for Infants,” was viewed in 7 foreign countries and in 49 states, plus the District of Columbia.

Each year about 3,500 babies in the United States die suddenly and unexpectedly before they reach their first birthday due to sleep-related deaths. These tragedies, called sudden unexpected infant death (SUID), often occur during sleep or in the baby’s sleep area, and include sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed, and other deaths from unknown causes.

In the 1990s, a dramatic reduction in sleep-related infant deaths followed the release of recommendations and campaigns including Back-to-Sleep (now known as Safe to Sleep®). However, rates of SUIDs have remained relatively flat since 2001 and racial and ethnic disparities persist. Differences in how the causes of these deaths are reported limit our understanding and prevention efforts.

This session of Public Health Grand Rounds will discuss infant safe sleep recommendations, the need for standardized SUID investigation and reporting practices, and promising interventions.