Air Mattresses Are Not Appropriate Sleep Spaces for Infants

To reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome and other sleeprelated infant deaths, the American Academy ofPediatrics recommends that all infants sleep on a firm surface (one that "maintains its shape and will not indent or conform to the shape ofthe infant's head").2 Air mattresses, even when properly inflated, may not be firm enough for an infant.3 Qualitative data suggest that parents and caregivers often may not interpret "firm" in the same way as...