Risks to sleeping infants vary by age

sleeping babyNewborn babies who sleep with their parents are more likely to die in bed than older infants, but older babies are more at risk from objects in their sleep area, according to a new study.

Researchers have known that sudden infant death syndrome and other sleep-related causes of infant mortality have several risk factors, including a practice known as co-sleeping, but less has been known about how those risks might vary given the age of the baby.

A team of researchers from Kansas City and Washington, D.C., studied 8,207 sleep-related infant deaths in 24 states that occurred from 2004 to 2012. The children were divided into two groups: younger (birth to 3 months) and older (4 months to 1 year).

The youngest infants who died were more likely than older babies to be bed-sharing (73.8% versus 58.9%) or sleeping in an adult bed or on top of an adult (51.6% versus 43.8%). Older infants were more likely than younger babies to have an object in their sleeping environment (39.4% versus 33.5%) or to have shifted from sleeping on their side or back to sleeping on their stomach (18.4% versus 13.8%). The results were published July 14 in the journal Pediatrics.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends these safe-sleeping practices for babies:

  • Place the baby in the room where you sleep, but not in your bed. Make sure the crib or bassinet is within arm’s reach of your bed.
  • Use only firm crib and bassinet mattresses.
  • Keep cribs and bassinets free of toys, blankets and pillows until the baby is at least 1 year old.
  • Place babies on their backs to sleep until they are at least 1 year old.
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