1 Department of Psychology, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859
2 Gerber Products Company, Fremont, MI 49413-0001
Both retrospective and risk factor studies1-5 have shown that infants who sleep in the prone position increase their risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). These data compelled the American Academy of Pediatrics in 1992 to recommend that parents avoid letting infants sleep in the prone position.6 Subsequent research demonstrated a drop in both prone sleeping and SIDS.7-9 These outcomes resulted in a renewal of the recommendation in 1994).10,11 Recent survey data indicate that pediatricians and family physicians are less likely to recommend the prone position9-14 and that prone sleeping has decreased from 74% to 58% for infants over 1 month of age.8-11