Is baby safe to sleep?

AuthorKelley, Bryan
PositionTRENDS & TRANSITIONS - Brief article

Roughly 4,000 infants die every year in the United States for no immediately obvious reason. When the cause cannot be determined, about half the deaths are attributed to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

SIDS rates started dropping around 1992, when pediatricians began recommending that babies be placed on their backs to sleep. State and national educational efforts also focused on educating parents about the risks.

By 2006, SIDS rates had decreased by more than 50 percent. But recently, rates have leveled off. At the same time, some types of sleep-related infant deaths, such as suffocation and hypothermia, have increased. This has prompted health experts and some policymakers to call for more comprehensive efforts to reduce unsafe sleeping conditions.

In 2013, lawmakers in Hawaii and Minnesota passed measures...

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