Are Safe Sleep Practice Recommendations For Infants Being Applied Among Caregivers?

Turki S Alahmadi,Sara Modan Alghamdi,Adel S Alharbi,Mrouge Sobaihi,Maysaa A Banjari,Kholoud M Bakheet

doi:10.7759/cureus.12133

Abstract

BackgroundSudden 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.MethodsThis 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).ResultsAmong 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%.ConclusionThere 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.

Highlights

Sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) is a devastating event
Data were collected from mothers who had infants visiting the outpatient department of King Abdulaziz University Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), during the year 2016, the deaths of 1,500 infants were solely attributed to Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in the United States [3]

Summary

Introduction

Sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) is a devastating event. After a thorough case investigation, SUID can be attributed to entrapment, suffocation, infections, trauma, and diseases of metabolism. If no specific cause of death is established, the term “Sudden Infant Death Syndrome” (SIDS) is used [2]. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), during the year 2016, the deaths of 1,500 infants were solely attributed to SIDS in the United States [3]. How to cite this article Alahmadi T S, Sobaihi M, Banjari M A, et al (December 17, 2020) Are Safe Sleep Practice Recommendations For Infants Being Applied Among Caregivers?. Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is defined as the sudden unexpected death of an infant, even after investigations and autopsy. This study aims to assess caregivers’ implementation of safe sleep practices and if they received any safe sleep education through health care workers

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