Infant Suffocation Deaths Are Rising

WEB MD

But Study Shows Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Is Declining

By Bill Hendrick
WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Jan. 26, 2009 -- Rates of infant mortality due to accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed have quadrupled since 1984, a new study shows.

In the same period, rates of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) declined, while sudden unexpected infant deaths remained stagnant, shows the study, published in the February edition of Pediatrics.

The seeming contradictions in increases and declines in deaths of infants are likely due to changes in the way such tragedies are investigated and classified, researcher Carrie K. Shapiro-Mendoza, PhD, of the CDC, tells WebMD.

She credits an "impressive" decline in SIDS cases to a national "back to sleep" campaign that, among other things, urges parents to put babies to sleep on their backs.

The reason for the sharp increase in accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed, or ASSB, isn't known for sure.

"It's probably due to poor bedding, blankets in cribs, sleeping with parents or siblings, or bad habits," she tells WebMD. "Or infants getting wedged between the mattress and the wall."

Also, despite urgings from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC, many parents still put babies to bed on their stomachs, which can lead to suffocation.

The decline in SIDS rates has been offset by an increase in other sudden unexplained infant deaths, a new category called SUIDs. ASSB death, a subgroup of SUIDs, is a leading cause of infant mortality, says Shapiro-Mendoza... Read More