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Are Safe Sleep Practice Recommendations For Infants Being Applied Among Caregivers?
Turki S Alahmadi1,2, Mrouge Sobaihi3, Maysaa A Banjari1
1Pediatric Department, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, SAU.
Insights
Caregivers in Saudi Arabia show poor adherence to safe infant sleep practices, with low rates of receiving education from healthcare providers. Enhancing caregiver education is crucial to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Neonatal Care
Background:
- Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is a leading cause of post-neonatal infant mortality.
- Risk factors for SIDS include infant sleep position and unsafe items in the sleep environment.
- Understanding caregiver adherence to safe sleep recommendations in Saudi Arabia is essential.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the implementation of safe sleep practices by caregivers of infants under one year old.
- To determine the extent of safe sleep education received by caregivers from healthcare workers.
- To identify gaps in knowledge and practice regarding infant safe sleep in Saudi Arabia.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional, descriptive study conducted with 506 participants in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
- Data collected via semi-structured questionnaires administered to mothers and an online survey.
- Exclusion criteria targeted infants with specific medical conditions to focus on general population practices.
Main Results:
- Only 22.5% of caregivers reported receiving safe sleep education from healthcare providers.
- While 63.2% of infants slept in the supine position, only 44.86% used a designated baby bed.
- Adherence to safe sleep environments dropped significantly to 1.58% when considering items like pillows and blankets in the crib.
Conclusions:
- Significant non-adherence to recommended safe sleep practices and potential knowledge deficits among caregivers were observed.
- There is a critical need for improved and comprehensive safe sleep education delivered by healthcare professionals.
- Media campaigns and targeted interventions are necessary to enhance caregiver practices and reduce SIDS risk.
Abstract:
Background Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is defined as the sudden unexpected death of an infant, even after investigations and autopsy. SIDS is related to many factors, such as the baby's position and objects in the crib. Adherence to safe sleep recommendations in Saudi Arabia is unclear. This study aims to assess caregivers' implementation of safe sleep practices and if they received any safe sleep education through health care workers. Methods This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study. Inclusion criteria included all infants below the age of one year. Exclusion criteria included infants who were born premature, used ventilation, had a tracheostomy, any anomaly in the upper airway, or underwent spine surgery. A semi-structured questionnaire was used. Data were collected from mothers who had infants visiting the outpatient department of King Abdulaziz University Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. An electronic survey was also created and published on a social platform. Statistical analysis was conducted with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software, version 26 (IBM SPSS Statistics, Armonk, NY). Results Among 506 participants, only 22.5% were found to receive education about safe practices from health care providers. Fortunately, most of the infants (63.2%) were found to sleep in a supine position most of the nights. Adherent caregivers to placing the child in a designated baby bed and in a supine position most nights represented 44.86% of the sample. However, when asked about placing any of the following objects in the bed (pillows, blankets, soft toys, hard toys, and electric wires), the percentage of adherence dropped down to only 1.58%. Conclusion There was an obvious non-adherence among caregivers and a possible lack of knowledge of safe sleep recommendations for infants. This highlights the need for optimal education by health care workers and the rule of media and campaigns is obvious and essential to improving their practices and, hopefully, decreasing the risk of SIDS.
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