In 1992, when ≈70% of U.S. infants slept prone, the AAP recommended placing infants on their backs or sides to sleep to reduce the risk of SIDS& in Spring 1994 the “Back to Sleep” campaign was initiated. To evaluate the success of these recommendations, sleep position was determined by interview among parents of 239 infants enrolled in the Collaborative Home Infant Monitoring Evaluation (CHIME) from May 1994 - April 1995. Parents were asked to state the sleep position in which the infant was usually placed during the two weeks prior to their first follow-up visit(≈30 days after enrollment into the study). Sleep position for Healthy Term& at-risk groups by post-conceptional age (PCA) at the time of the visit are shown below: Table Prone sleeping in each group was≤ 33%, with the highest rate observed in the Healthy Term group. Prone sleeping among Preterm infants (who were excepted from the AAP recommendation) was similarly low. The rate of prone sleeping was highest among those ≥ 49 wks PCA, an age associated with increased SIDS risk. These data indicate that at any PCA, > 2 3 of at-risk infants slept in the back or side position. Although the rate of prone sleeping has declined since 1992, the goal of the“Back to Sleep” campaign of reducing prone sleeping to < 10% has not yet been achieved. Supported by NICHD Grant #HD28971.

Table 1
Full size table