Consequences of the “Back to Sleep” Program in Infants

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the third leading cause of infant mortality in the United States and the leading cause of death among infants 28–364 days of age. The “Back to Sleep” program was implemented in 1992 to promote supine sleeping in efforts to prevent SIDS. Along with this implementation came several consequences that are avoidable in infants. The purposes of this article are to describe the Back to Sleep program and its intended purpose, to identify the adverse consequences, and to develop a teaching program for nurse practitioners to use with parents that will both promote safe sleeping and reduce the untoward consequences of the back to sleep program while maintaining the integrity of the SIDS prevention advice.

Key words: SIDS, “Back to sleep”, Delayed motor development in infants, Supine sleeping, Plagiocephaly