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Supine infant sleep: what do family physicians recommend?
1Department of Family Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Md 20814, USA.
Insights
Family physicians largely encourage safe infant sleep positions, with 62% recommending supine sleep. However, a significant minority (21%) discourage this practice, highlighting a gap in adherence to American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines for reducing Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Family Medicine
Background:
- Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) remains a significant cause of infant mortality, with over 6000 deaths annually in the US.
- Prone sleep position is a known risk factor for SIDS, while supine sleep has been associated with over 50% reduction in SIDS rates.
- The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended supine sleep for infants in 1992, leading to widespread adoption in some countries.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the self-reported compliance of family physicians with the AAP's recommendation for infant sleep position.
- To understand the current practices of family physicians regarding infant sleep recommendations.
Main Methods:
- A questionnaire was mailed to 300 members of the Uniformed Services Academy of Family Physicians.
- The survey focused on their recommendations concerning infant sleep position.
Main Results:
- A 77% response rate was achieved from the surveyed family physicians.
- 62% of respondents reported usually or always encouraging the supine sleep position for infants.
- Conversely, 21% of respondents reported usually or always discouraging the supine sleep position.
Conclusions:
- The rate at which this cohort of family physicians encourages supine sleep is comparable to previously reported rates among pediatricians.
- The study did not elucidate the reasons behind the incomplete endorsement of the AAP's supine sleep recommendation by family physicians.
Background:
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) kills more than 6000 infants annually in the United States. Researchers have described prone sleep position as a risk factor for SIDS. A greater than 50 percent reduction in SIDS has been reported in countries where the predominant sleep position changed from prone to supine. In 1992 the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended that healthy infants be placed in a supine position at bedtime. Previous studies of pediatric practices reported a 60 percent compliance with the recommendation. This study describes the self-reported compliance with the AAP recommendation by a cohort of family physicians.
Methods:
Three hundred members of the Uniformed Services Academy of Family Physicians were mailed a questionnaire about their recommendations regarding infant sleep position.
Results:
The response rate was 77 percent. Sixty-two percent of the respondents usually or always encourage supine sleep position. Twenty-one percent usually or always discourage the supine sleep position.
Conclusions:
This cohort of family physicians encourages the supine sleep position at rates similar to reported cohorts of pediatricians. Reasons for the limited endorsement of the AAP recommendation were not explained by the results of this study.