DOES THE SUPINE SLEEPING POSITION HAVE ANY ADVERSE-EFFECTS ON THE CHILD .1. HEALTH IN THE FIRST 6 MONTHS

Objective. To assess whether the recommendations that infants sleep su pine could have adverse health consequences. Design. A prospective stu dy of infants, delivered before, during, and after the Back to Sleep C ampaign in the United Kingdom (UK), followed to 6 months of age. The c hildren were part of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Chil dhood (ALSPAC). Subjects. Singletons born to mothers resident in the t hree former Bristol-based health districts of Avon in the period June 1991 to December 1992, and for whom questionnaires were completed on s leeping position at 4 to 6 weeks of age (n = 9777); for these infants 8524 questionnaires were also completed at 6 to 8 months of age. Main Outcome Measures. Subjective measures of health, the presence of speci fic signs and symptoms, duration of sleep at night, and calling the fa mily doctor to the home. Results. Of 43 outcomes considered, after adj ustment for 12 factors using logistic regression only 2 were associate d with raised risk among infants put to sleep on their back (diaper ra sh and cradle cap). Infants put to sleep prone had increased risk of a number of health outcomes, including cough and possibly pyrexia. Conc lusions. There is no evidence that putting infants to sleep in the sup ine position results in increased morbidity, although changes in preva lence of rare disorders would not have been identified.