The purpose of the study is to determine the impact of discharge teaching on maternal decision making regarding her baby's sleeping position after discharge. Mothers were instructed by the nursing staff to place the infant on his/her side or back during sleep to prevent sudden infant death syndrome(SIDS) as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Mothers were interviewed prior to discharge by one of the authors to obtain information regarding their preference for the baby's sleeping position at home. In addition, factors that influence their decision and information about their socioeconomic factors were collected.

Fifty eight mothers were interviewed during a four months period(April-Aug.1995). Sleeping position other than supine or side were considered to be non optimal for the purpose of the study. Twenty eight mothers chose non recommended position (NRP group) and the remaining thirty mothers chose the recommended position (RP Group). There was no difference in maternal age, race or drug use between the groups. The reasons cited for their decision are listed below. Table

Table 1
Full size table

In summary, previous experience was the main deciding factor in both groups, discharge instruction influenced only 16% (9/58) mothers and may be due to short stay in the hospital or lack of focused teaching.