Infant suffocation death rates quadruple in US

Washington, United States, January 27: A new study report from United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals that infant mortality rates due to accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed have quadrupled since 1984.

The researchers warn that parents should not sleep with their babies on the same bed because most of the suffocation deaths the study identified were by "overlay" -- the parent rolling over onto the child. Other common reasons were, covering the baby's face with a pillow or wrapping the blanket around its neck while it is asleep. In some cases, baby became wedged between mattress and wall or bed frame that caused suffocation.

The study author Carrie K. Shapiro-Mendoza, an epidemiologist in the division of reproductive health at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, "The safest sleep environment for an infant is one that's close to the parent on a separate sleep surface; Infants should always be placed to sleep on their back on a firm mattress, and the sleep surface should be free of pillows, quilts, comforters and stuffed animals."

The researchers analyzed United States infant mortality data from 1984 through 2004. They said, “Sudden, unexpected infant death was defined as a combination of all deaths attributed to accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and unknown causes.” They also studied the factors contributing for these types of deaths.

The researchers found that rates of sudden infant death from suffocation or strangulation in bed had increased from 2.8 deaths per 100000 live births in 1984 to 12.5 deaths per 100000 live births in 2004. The researchers could not find any reason for this rise in death rate. They also concluded that black male infants under 4 months were more affected by accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed. The study shows that while SIDS (Sudden infant death syndrome) cases have gone down, suffocation deaths have gone up.

"It seems that medical examiners or coroners seem to be moving away from SIDS as a diagnosis and more likely to report suffocation as the cause of death," said Shapiro-Mendoza. "We don't know the exact reason. It could have to do with better death investigation or stricter adherence to SIDS definition."

The study is published in the journal Pediatrics.