Infant sleep position: a New Zealand survey

Four thousand and forty-one infants aged 1-4 months were included in a national survey to determine the position in which New Zealand infants usually sleep. Infants were most commonly put down on the side or on the front with the face to one side. Many changed position during sleep. By far the most common position in which infants ended up sleeping was on the front with the face to one side. The proportion of infants in the various sleep positions changed with age. Speculation as to a possible relationship between sleep position and sudden infant death must take into account that many infants do not sleep in the position in which they are put down and that there are changes in position with age.