Sofas and Infant Mortality

Abstract

WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT: Sleeping on a sofa increases the risk of sudden and unexpected infant death.WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS: Infant deaths on sofas are associated with nonsupine placement, being found in side position, surface sharing, changing sleep location, and experiencing prenatal tobacco exposure. These results may help explain why sofa sleeping is hazardous for infants. abstract OBJECTIVE: Sleeping on sofas increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome and other sleep-related deaths. We sought to describe factors associated with infant deaths on sofas. METHODS:We analyzed data for infant deaths on sofas from 24 states in 2004 to 2012 in the National Center for the Review and Prevention of Child Deaths Case Reporting System database. Demographic and environmental data for deaths on sofas were compared with data for sleep-related infant deaths in other locations, using bivariate and multivariable, multinomial logistic regression analyses. RESULTS:A total of 1024 deaths on sofas made up 12.9% of sleeprelated infant deaths. They were more likely than deaths in other locations to be classified as accidental suffocation or strangulation (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.6-2.3) or ill-defined cause of death (aOR 1.2; 95% CI, 1.0-1.5). Infants who died on sofas were less likely to be Hispanic (aOR 0.7; 95% CI, 0.6-0.9) compared with non-Hispanic white infants or to have objects in the environment (aOR 0.6; 95% CI, 0.5-0.7) and more likely to be sharing the surface with another person (aOR 2.4; 95% CI, 1.9-3.0), to be found on the side (aOR 1.9; 95% CI, 1.4-2.4), to be found in a new sleep location (aOR 6.5; 95% CI, 5.2-8.2), and to have had prenatal smoke exposure (aOR 1.4; 95% CI, 1.2-1.6). Data on recent parental alcohol and drug consumption were not available. CONCLUSIONS:The sofa is an extremely hazardous sleep surface for infants. Deaths on sofas are associated with surface sharing, being found on the side, changing sleep location, and experiencing prenatal tobacco exposure, which are all risk factors for sudden infant death syndrome and sleep-related deaths.

Sudden infant death syndrome: current perspectives

“…Compared with sleeping in their own cot the risk of dying from SIDS is up to 67 times higher. A recent US study reported that deaths on sofas comprised 13% of infant sleep‐related deaths in 2004–2012 . Parents should be alerted to this risk, and counselled that it is riskier to feed an infant on a sofa, than on a bed.…”

Sudden infant death syndrome and advice for safe sleeping

“…The risk of SIDS in infants who co-slept on a sofa was 67 times that in infants who slept in their own cot. 43 95 Parents should be alerted to this risk and counselled that it is riskier to feed infants on a sofa than on a bed.…”

Evidence-Based Infant Sleep Recommendations

“…A recently published analysis of U.S. infant deaths on sofas found that 50.5% and 12.9% occurred on adult beds and sofas, respectively. 6 We agree that ''the issues around safe sleep are complex. No infant sleep environment is completely safe.''…”