Parents’ choice of non-supine sleep position for newborns: a cross-sectional study.

The objective of this study was to investigate the sleeping position of infants attending an outpatient clinic, considering the influences of the back to sleep (BTS) campaign. A paper survey was given to 678 parents who presented their infant (under 1 year of age) to the paediatric chiropractic clinic for care asking their infant’s sleep position. Of the total survey sample, 50% of parents selected the supine position as the preferred position they placed the baby to sleep, 19% of parents preferred to place their babies prone, 34% on the babies side and 2% selected other. Some mothers selected more than one preferred sleeping position. The initial decline of mothers using non-supine positioning, seen shortly after the implementation of the BTS campaign, is no longer evident. Recent research implies approximately half of infants are now placed in a non-compliant sleeping position. If an infant’s most preferred sleeping position is not that of current guidelines, manual therapy such as chiropractic care should be sought to help infants sleep supine with comfort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]