[Hospital practice in neonatal period to prevent infant sudden death syndrome]

To describe hospital care for newborns in the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS), as well as all the recommendations given to parents to prevent sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) at home.

There were twenty-eight IMSS hospitals randomly selected from four geographical areas of the country, under a stratified sampling method according to the number of births per year. The method used was newborns direct observation in the neonatal care areas, and to fill out a questionnaire applied by trained observers. This questionnaire was adapted from the Maternity Advice Study that includes hospital care for newborns and all the recommendations that parents have to do for newborns at home.

The newborns in neonatal areas used to sleep in lateral position (80 and 67%). Baby cradles with medium firmness and elevated head-rest were predominant in the areas surveyed. Babies were generally wrapped-up from the neck to down, tightly enough that it prevented arm and leg movement. Parents received information on how to prevent SIDS at home, and up to 21% of them received no information at all.

There were no specific practices at all the hospitals in this survey to diminish SIDS. It is necessary to organize specific health actions to diminish the risk of SIDS at home.