Predictors of infant sleep position

Abstract

Sleep position has been studied extensively because of the association between prone and lateral sleep positions and increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome. The factors that predict prone and lateral sleep position during the period 1996 to 2002 were studied by McKinney et al from the University of Texas at Houston School of Public Health. In more than 11 000 mother-infant pairs from Washington State, it was shown that the factors associated with high risk sleep positions are infant's year of birth, maternal race and ethnicity, maternal county of residence, and maternal parity. There was a difference between the predictive factors for prone and lateral sleep position in that mothers being born in the United States and male sex were predictive of prone sleep positioning whereas Medicaid as the primary insurance, receipt of government benefits, lower infant gestational age, and low birth weight were predictive of only lateral sleep positioning. This research will help guide public health intervention strategies.