Sudden infant death syndrome: Do the parents follow the recommendations?

Prone sleeping position is the main known modifiable risk factor for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). There are other SIDS recommendations although with less impact. The objective of this study is to describe the prevalence of prone position during sleep as well as other risk factors associated with SIDS in a sample of Spanish babies and infants. Cross-sectional study carried out on 640 families with children from 0 months to 11 months. In addition to the sleep position, the adherence to four other recommendations regarding SIDS was analysed: place where infant sleeps, breastfeeding, use of non-nutritive suction, and maternal smoking. A total of 41.3% of infants under 6 months and 59.7% of infants aged 6 to 11 months slept in a non-recommended position. Only 6.4% of families analysed followed all five recommendations. There is a high prevalence of modifiable risk factors for SIDS among the studied population. Personalized education should be promoted, along with other campaigns to raise awareness and prevent SIDS.