By Erika Edwards -
NBC News
A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that the majority of unexpected infant deaths continue to be related to the beds in which they sleep, despite decades of warnings from safety aimed at new parents.
The research, published Tuesday in the journal
Pediatrics
, concludes that blankets, pillows, bumpers, stuffed animals and non-crib sleeping surfaces remain the leading causes of accidental suffocation among babies four months and younger.
The study
analyzed data from 4,929 cases
of sudden unexpected death (SUID) between 2011 and 2017. Soft bedding was associated with 72% of cases.
Very young babies are unable to avoid the choking hazard that affects their ability to breathe.
SUID is the sudden and unexpected death of a baby under one year of age.
It includes SIDS, or sudden infant death syndrome, as well as accidental asphyxia in sleeping environments.
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"We're also talking about babies
being placed on surfaces other than a bassinet or crib
- a sofa, recliner, or an adult's bed," said study author Sharyn Parks, a senior epidemiologist with the Division of Reproductive Health of the United States. the CDC.
"We are seeing babies dying in all of those circumstances," he added.
Only 1% of the deaths analyzed were confirmed
unexplained without soft bedding
or other unsafe
sleeping
surfaces.
The factors of the remaining 27% could not be determined due to lack of information.
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SUID cases fell sharply in the mid-1990s, thanks to a massive public health campaign called "
Back to Sleep,"
which encouraged new parents to put newborns on their backs to sleep, rather than on their mouths. under.
When the campaign began in 1994, almost
4,700 babies had died
of sudden unexpected death the previous year.
By 2010, the number of these deaths had halved, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
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Since then, progress has stalled.
The CDC now reports that up to 3,500 babies die from SUID each year in the United States.
"
We haven't been able to effectively engage families
," said Sunah Hwang, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado and a neonatologist at Children's Hospital Colorado.
Hwang, who was not involved in the CDC study, suggested that the time to talk to parents about safe sleep practices should be before the baby is born: "We have to have this conversation in the early stages of the prenatal period. We have They need to start asking families, "What is your sleep plan? What kind of cribs or travel backpacks are you considering?"
"Too often, we think of it as a post-baby conversation," Hwang said, "by that time it
's too late
."
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Additionally, conversations may need to be tailored to certain groups with higher SUID rates.
"We consistently see the highest rates among the American Indian and Alaska Native populations, closely followed by the African American population," said Parks, "We want to find ways to better reach those populations and provide them with support."
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The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies lie on their backs on firm, flat surfaces, without pillows, blankets, toys, or crib bumpers, which are soft padding that is placed around the perimeter of babies' beds.
Studies have also shown that
pacifier
use
can reduce the risk of
sudden infant
death
.
Experts say that pacifiers should not be attached to clothing or toys.
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"Also, if possible, keep the baby's crib in the caregiver's bedroom for at least six months, preferably until the baby is one year old," Parks said.